Stuck On You
by thistooshallpass
Summary: A bout of accidental wand-less magic puts Harry and Hermione in a rather awkward position that doesn't seem to want to go away. Not only are the boundaries of friendship to be tested but their patience and sanity as well.
1. The Accident

A/N: I know I have too many "in process" stories out at once but I can't help it. My little inspiration bug has hit me since I no longer have any college classes to worry about for the next couple months. I'll be updating them all frequently (hopefully), so stick with me!

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><p>"I'm going back to school and that is the end of this discussion."<p>

They were rounding on a half hour of fighting by that point and she could feel herself growing increasingly annoyed with the boy in front of her. Hermione ran her hand through her thick brown hair frustrated with the fact that they were less than two weeks away from the beginning of school and she was still having this argument with him.

"You don't even NEED to go back! Kingsley practically spelled it out that you can get any job at the Ministry without going back to school!" Ron protested, pacing near the door as he yelled. When he received an eye roll in return he felt his face grow hot again. He tried to breathe slowly and patiently but the idea of his girlfriend going back to school after they had hardly had anytime together was beyond his realm of thought.

"Ron, I told you. I may not need to finish my education but I WANT to. I want my certificate of completion. I want the class ceremony. I want to take time to still be a kid in school before I spend the rest of my life working. I want to get a job because I'm worthy of it, not because people feel they owe it to me." She was growing tired of their argument, turning away from him and placing the shrunken suitcase onto the bed. Tapping her wand on the aged trunk carefully, it unfolded magically back to its original size.

"I'll have you know I _earned_ my spot in the Auror program, same as Harry!" He growled, pounding his fist against the table. Hermione shot him a glare, annoyed with his physical outburst and continued to fold her clothes via magic. He threw out the chair from under Ginny's small desk and sat down, running his hands over his face.

"I never said you didn't. I just don't know what I want to do with my life, Ron. I don't know if I even want to work for the Ministry, it's another reason I need to go back to school. Besides, don't you think it's unfair that you're refusing to see my side yet you'll be off at Auror training for three months? I'm not asking you to stop your dreams." Hermione told him, the anger slipping out of her voice, replaced with a sort of disappointment. She had known that he wasn't going to let her go without some sort of fight but she didn't think that he would completely fail to see reason. The unpleasant arguing felt just as it had before he left during their hunt for the horcruxes.

There was a silence between them, the only sounds being Hermione's clothes folding and her rummaging through her things to find the red beaded bag.

"I'm asking you to wait three months for me, you're asking me to wait an entire year. It's just – wait a second, what are you doing?" He asked, suddenly alarmed as if he'd finally noticed the trunk atop the bed and the belongings that zipped around her and into it. Hermione sighed, the feeling of annoyance filling her veins once more.

"I told you last week that my parents asked me to stay for the remaining of the holiday now that they've settled into a new home here."

"Yes, but you never discussed actually going." Ron told her, his voice getting louder as he grew angry once more. Hermione stopped what she was doing and turned to gape at him, the look on her eyes one of incredible annoyance she wondered how on earth he could be so blind to anyone else's needs.

"They're my parents! I erased their memories and sent them off to a foreign country for over a year. I want to spend time with them! Two weeks at home is practically an insult to them and I already feel guilty for not being with them since they arrived back from Australia. Honestly, Ronald!" She shook her head, telling herself that this was just a rough patch and that they would get over it once he saw that she wasn't trying to hurt him.

"Honestly, Ronald? Honestly, Ronald?" He repeated, the vein in his neck looked ready to explode and he stood up so quickly that the chair clattered beneath him. He punched the wall next to him, glaring at her for what he felt was treating him like a child rather than an equal. Hermione put her hands on her hips, not afraid in the least but growing impatient and less understanding of his outbursts as the seconds ticked by.

The door to room was torn open and they both whipped around to see an annoyed Harry standing at the door, glaring at his two best friends. Everyone in the house had been dreadfully quiet downstairs as they listened to the volatile couple argue and it was becoming horribly clear that people were starting to grow annoyed with noises from Ron's lack of restraint. Ron glared at him while Hermione almost instantly hung her head shamefully. Now that the door was open she could hear everyone talking about the argument going on between the still new couple.

"That's enough, don't you think?" While his comment was meant for both of them, he was staring down Ron and the already purplish spotting on his hand. Hermione nodded, turning back to her trunk and folding her clothes once more. The heat of embarrassment was reddening her face as she did so.

"Quite. I'm sorry Harry." She apologized although not looking at him. His face softened a bit and he looked over at Ron who was looking out the window whos hands were balled in fists. He walked over to Hermione and placed a hand on her wrist stopping her for a second. She paused and raised her head to look at him and saw the silent question in his eyes asking her if she was alright. She gave him a tight lipped smile, shrugging her shoulders before returning to her task.

"I want you to stay, Hermione." Ron said finally, his voice sounding less firm and more like that of a petulant child. She sighed frustratingly but said nothing, quite aware now of the spectacle that they'd already made of themselves. Her brown eyes looked over at Harry to see that he was looking away from both of them, solidifying his place as the impartial party. She finished packing all of her things, glaring at Crookshanks as he hissed at Ron on his way out.

"I'm sorry Ron, but my mind is made up." Her voice was quiet, no longer laced with annoyance as it was now horribly sad. Ron had yet to move from his spot by the window, his back facing them both and responded to her statement by tensing his shoulders silently.

Harry watched them both a bit awkwardly. He always tried his hardest not to take sides when it came to them but after the events of the past year, he found it harder to do so.

On one hand, Ron had just lost Percy in the war and was trying to settle into the idea of having lost someone; Harry knew how difficult it was to deal with things changing after death of someone you love and he understood (to some extent) Ron's anger. He even understood Ron being afraid or angry at the thought of doing something without Hermione there as he himself wished that Hermione had decided to join the Auror program alongside them.

However, he silently sided with the woman standing next to him. She had hopes and dreams and nothing was going to change that about her. She'd given up so much for everyone during the previous year: her education, her parents, her safety, her freedom. Other than friends at Hogwarts, Hermione had no real ties to the wizarding world of England and could have easily up and left alongside her parents to study safely away in Australia (something that he had pushed for after Dumbledore's death). He knew that this was her chance to finish what she started and he supported her wholeheartedly, even if he would miss the constant company he'd grown accustomed to.

After a long silence, Hermione's shoulders dropped and she sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"Harry, will you help me take my things downstairs. My parents are expecting me home before dark and I haven't said goodbye to anyone yet." She told him sadly, looking over at Ron to see if he'd relent in his sour mood. Harry nodded quietly and watched as she grasped the handle of the trunk. She lifted the trunk carefully, the weight surprising her and causing her to nearly drop it onto both their feet. Harry's hand shot out over hers, helping her lift it. Just as his hand touched hers Ron had turned around, absently rolling his wand between his fingers.

"_Epoximise maxima!"_ He said over and over again in his head, wishing that he could get her to stay with him just a little longer. A silver strand of light escaped his wand, causing Harry and Hermione to fly backwards with the trunk atop of them.

His face burned red and he ran over to them. He had been thinking of casting a sticking charm on Hermione's suitcase in order to get her to stay a bit longer. It didn't occur to him until after they flew backwards that he had actually done it.

"I'm sorry! I was just thinking about it, I didn't mean to actually cast it. I swear!" He told them, hoping to Merlin that Hermione didn't hex body parts off. Footsteps could be heard running upstairs as the sound of them slamming into the wall had been rather loud. He could only imagine the screaming he'd be enduring from his mother and sister as they realized that not only did he accidentally attack his best friend and girlfriend but that he blasted them into their great-grandmother's armoire. He pulled the suitcase off of them, earning a groan of appreciation from the both of them as it hadn't been charmed with a feather light charm. He pulled the clothes and pieces of wood off of their faces, finding that he broke Harry's glasses.

"What did you do?" Ginny yelled as she saw her boyfriend's current state; rushing over, she helped Ron sit them both up. Hermione's hand held the back of her head with a groan while Harry found himself doing the same, feeling as if his head had been cut in half with an axe. They were both vaguely aware of the snickering from the twins at the door and the slapping Ron was earning from his distraught mother.

"Defeats the darkest wizard of all time…" George started.

"…only to nearly be killed by ickle Ronniekins." Fred finished.

Hermione lifted her head to glare at the two wizards which she currently saw four of and raised a heavy hand in order to massage her temples. She groaned as she felt her hand dropped to her side and lifted it once more to her face. She looked up when she heard a gasp from the two female Weasleys in the room and blinked blankly.

"What?" The duo on the floor asked, looking up at three heads of red hair. They received no answer as both Molly and Ginny turned on Ron angrily; Ginny had begun hitting him once more, Molly berating him for being so foolish. They sat in a daze for a while longer until Hermione finally shook off the haziness in her head and raised her head once more.

"Can you all stop for a moment?" Harry said, beating her to the punch, his green eyes flashing annoyance as he looked at them through two cracked lenses. Hermione moved to grasp her wand in order to fix them when she stopped herself short. Harry eyes widened as she moved her hand, finally understanding why they all were so upset with Ron. Carefully, he looked down and lifted his left hand to find that…

It was firmly attached to the top of Hermione's right. There was a morbid silence as the two best friends stared at their glued limbs before they both turned to glare at the guilty party in front of them.

"What did you do?"

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><p>Ron tried not to look at the accusing eyes on him but his family and friends seemed determined to show him their unhappiness with him. His mother busied herself with fixing dinner while they waited for Bill and Fleur to come over. Harry and Hermione were forbidden by Molly to try reversing the spell themselves as she feared that with both being hit rather roughly to the head would mess with having the proper concentration. It was the odd moments such as these where it helped to have Gringotts top curse breaker in the family.<p>

Hermione tried to find the irony in the fact that her boyfriend had spelled her to another man and failed horribly. She could barely look at Ginny as Harry's hand rested atop hers on the table. It felt terribly awkward holding hands in front of your boyfriend and the other person's girlfriend. One look at Harry and Hermione knew he felt the same as he refused to look at his girlfriend or his female best friend, content to glare at Ron angrily.

"Would it help if I said-" Ron started cautiously.

"No." Harry snapped.

"It really wouldn't help at all." Hermione finished curtly, feeling inadequate as this would usually be the part where she crossed her arms in a huff. If it weren't for the fact that she was stuck to Harry, she would have already forgone magic to strangle her boyfriend with her bare hands. The idea of perhaps pinning him to the wall with just one seemed too strenuous and she quickly dismissed it.

Hermione looked at the time and groaned loudly. Her parents were probably wondering where she was by now and the idea of explaining to them that she'd been glued to a person (especially a male person) was not something she fancied doing.

"Has anyone seen Cosette?" She asked grouchily. Before anyone could say another word the Australian masked owl that her parents gave her during their retrieval swooped down and perched atop the kitchen windowsill. The owl made a soft noise to announce her presence and Hermione smiled thankfully. She summoned a piece of paper and Harry snorted as he watched her pulled a pen out of her hair. Quickly writing an excuse for her tardiness, she rolled it up and lifted it up to show the smart bird that she was ready. The owl flew towards them, perching carefully on Harry's shoulder as she waited for her task.

"Can you send that to my parents? They'll probably be wondering where I am." She told the bird as she stroked its feathers affectionately. The owl stuck out a leg and Hermione attached it, touching her feathers once more. The bird left with a low hoot before swooping out of the room and threateningly raised her claws near Ron's face as she swept past him. Ron jolted back a bit, glaring at the animal as it gathered distance between them.

"You always pick the worst animals." He grumbled to her, earning a dark glare from his girlfriend. Just as she was about to argue with him for saying anything Ginny spoke first.

"I happen to think Cosette is charming. Besides, it's not Hermione's fault that her animals can detect the smell of an idiot." Ginny told him. The brother and sister began arguing almost immediately after that and the two connected friends could only watch with mild impatience.

"What time do you think Bill will get here?" Hermione asked Harry quietly, her voice unnoticeable by the screaming match between the two youngest Weasleys. His shoulders sagged a little in response and he shook his head.

"Not soon enough." He told her, earning an unladylike snort from the girl next to him. Thinking that he'd offended her somehow he turned towards her and squeezed the hand that was attached to his gently.

"Not that I don't care for you or anything. I'd just rather be stuck WITH you than stuck TO you." He told her jokingly. Hermione smiled at him and gave a pat to his hand with her free one, nodding in agreement.

"I knew what you meant, Harry. Don't worry, I don't want to be stuck to you either." She assured him playfully, getting a grin in return. There was a soft roar from the fire place and everyone in the room went quiet for a moment and they all let out a sound of relief as they heard Fleur talking to Bill.

"Thank God." Hermione murmured. Bill opened the door, stopping short when he saw that five pairs of expectant eyes looking at him. He gave them all a sheepish grin, running a hand through his hair. Fleur stood behind him an eyebrow raised and looking strangely pale as she stood before them.

"Heard you got yourselves a sticky situation." Bill said finally, his sheepish grin turning quickly into a teasing one. The four Gryffindors at the table groaned while outside a sarcastic "funny Billy boy" could be heard from the twins. Fleur rolled her eyes and shook her head, walking over to Molly to give her a hug.

"Bonjour Molly." She told her, giving her a kiss on either cheek. Molly smiled, stepping back to look at her questioningly.

"Are you alright dear? You look a bit peaky." She told her concernedly. Their relationship had slowly grown comfortable after their experiences during the war as everyone in the Weasley household learned that there was much more to Fleur than a pretty face and Veela charm. The blonde smiled at her as she let go and shook her head.

"There's a stomach bug being passed around her floor at Gringott's." Bill assured her, leaning down to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. Although she wasn't completely satisfied, the Weasley matriarch nodded and quickly turned to the matter at hand. She raised herself to her full height, a hand on her hip while the other holding a cooking spoon as she glared down at her youngest son.

"Ronald Weasley, explain to your brother what you did so that he might be able to fix this." She told him. The wooden spoon in her hand flicked towards his face threateningly with every annoyed word that came out of her mouth. Ron slumped in his chair, especially as Harry and Hermione glared at him once more.

"Well, I was just thinking-"

"Please, don't use that word, your head might explode-" Ginny began to interrupt. She was silenced as Molly waved her spoon at her instead and motioned towards the door.

"Ginny, round up the twins and make sure they put everything away so that we can have supper when your father gets home." Molly told her curtly. Ginny opened her mouth as to protest and thought the better of it as her mother's glare narrowed at even the slightest movement of her lips. She gave a reluctant nod and turned her head to glare at Ron before stomping out of the room. Bill shook his head smiling as they all watched her leave. Ron sat up, a sort of triumphant smile on his lips.

"Mental, that one-" He started, only to cut himself off at the look of warning that Harry and Hermione were giving him.

"Well as I was saying. Hermione was getting ready to leave and all I was thinking was that I wanted to use a sticking charm on her suitcase to make her stay. I had my wand in my hand and when I turned around, well, next thing I knew they were flying into that old dresser." Ron told them, his face turning red as he did so. Hermione's face softened a bit as he had honestly not meant to do what he did. While she was still angry at him for doing it, she stopped glaring at him so harshly.

Bill nodded as he took in the information while Fleur leaned over the table and lifted their connected hands. She tugged gently at Harry's hand and scrunched her face in thought as she looked over their predicament.

"Were you just thinking about wanting her to stay? Or were you going over a specific spell in your head?" Bill asked. Ron ducked his head as Harry and Hermione turned their attention back to him to hear his answer.

"It might've been a spell." Ron admitted begrudgingly, his words mumbled.

"You did wandless magic then. Even though you haven't studied the spell wandlessly, well, it almost works like accidental magic does when you're a kid where your emotions lead your magic to do something."

"So it's like if a kid wanted to get rid of a bad haircut and suddenly his hair grows back." Harry mused, grinning as he thought of the accidental magic he'd performed when he was younger and how they annoyed his aunt and uncle. Fleur looked up at him from her investigation of their hands and raised an eyebrow for a second before continuing her task.

"Correct. Now, as you go to school and control your magical abilities, accidental magic pretty much stops occurring."

"Unless you're Harry Potter and you blow up your uncle's sister during your third year." Ron added in, happy to earn a grin from his best friend after being glared at for so long. The occupants in the room chuckled a little and the mood lightened for a little as Bill continued.

"There is that. With wandless magic, it's sort of a hit and miss with wizards. Some are able to apply it to arduous tasks with ease but most will only be able to do simple things like summoning a book from a shelf. However, there's been cases where wizards who are trapped without a wand have summoned enough emotion and strength to blast through a wall; then when they try to do it consciously on a separate occasion, it doesn't take." He explained, chuckling as he saw Hermione's eager and interested stare as she sucked in the information he was giving her.

"But Ron had his wand in his hand when he was thinking it so it's not exactly 'wandless' magic is it?" Hermione asked him, looking down curiously as a purple strand came out of Fleur's wand and began wrapping around their joined hands. Bill nodded in agreement.

"Not exactly, but the idea is the same. Accidental magic is when there's absolutely no spell work. He was actively thinking the spell in his mind under emotional strain. So, I guess you could say it was a bit of accidental magic as well." He conceded, looking to Fleur as she stood up with her hands on her hips, glaring at the connected hands.

"It is a very strong spell." She told him, looking slightly annoyed. Bill clicked his tongue in response and looked back at Ron.

"What spell were you thinking of?" He asked, once again causing all of the attention to go in his younger brother's direction.

"Expsmitemamima." Ron mumbled almost pathetically. He wasn't even sure of what sort of sticking charm it was, only that he had heard the twins talking about it once when they were brainstorming out loud during one of their work sessions. Hermione raised an eyebrow and her hand twitched as she had to stop herself once more from crossing her arms or something of the sort.

"Speak up!" Molly chastised, taking her attention away from the unfinished dinner as she was curious to know what he'd be thinking of as well. He sighed in defeat.

"Epoximise maxima." He announced clearly, wincing at the gasps from the women in the room and the low whistle from his older brother. Harry looked around worriedly, wishing he had paid better attention during class. The green eye wizard could feel the Hermione' hand clench into a fist under his and before he could say anything, his attention was turned to Molly Weasley who was sputtering angrily at her son.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" She yelled angrily, causing the three younger students to jump at the sudden shrill of her voice. Bill shook his head and Fleur motioned for the four of them to leave the room so that Ron could be yelled at without being watched. Hermione shook her head, too angry to speak as Harry led the way to the living room. The muffled sounds of Molly's voice could be heard all throughout the house at that point.

"Mind telling me what spell that is?" Harry asked, feeling the accidental jerk of his hand as Hermione reached up to pull back her hair, mumbling to herself angrily. Bill placed a hand on the war hero's shoulder.

"It's a permanent sticking charm. Same kind they used on Madame Black's portrait at Grimmauld." Hermione grumbled angrily. Harry blinked blankly at the information, looking at Hermione, then Bill and the Fleur carefully before he said anything.

"You don't mean the screaming painting that no one knows how to remove, right?" He asked slowly, his hands clenching around Hermione's small one as the annoyance building up in him rapidly grew to anger. Hermione shot him a pointed look and nodded her head; Harry narrowed his eyes towards the kitchen door (or more accurately at what was behind the kitchen door).

"RON!"

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><p>The conclusion they both came to was simple: It was a miracle they won the war.<p>

The connected duo stood apart just outside of the Burrow, arms outstretched so that they were as far away from one another as they could get without being unbalanced. Though the summer nights were still long and it wasn't dark yet outside, it was getting late. The dark cloud didn't seem too far away as the idea that they might be stuck for a while seemed possible. Their predicament seemed, however, to be a bit of a novelty distraction for everyone as all of the Weasleys and both Lupins stood around them trying to figure out how they might unglue their comrades.

"Imagine if we came up with a product that really did this…" Fred wondered aloud, tapping his wand against his chin pensively.

"You could stick your teacher to her desk or to the U-bend." George told him cheerily. They both turned to one another with a grin and Harry wondered if twin telepathy was real as it looked like they were mentally communicating ideas for possible torture in the name of hilarity. Hermione opened her mouth to chastise them and closed it, shaking her head and closing her eyes. He could tell that she was trying her best to contain a cool head in front of everyone. He squeezed her hand gently and when she turned to look at him he gave her a tip of the head and she returned it with a nod and a small smile.

"I think we might have to go to St. Mungo's already." Tonks sighed, defeated. They had been shooting spells at their hands for the past hour, trying carefully not to hurt either and were coming up short. Bill grew frustrated the most as he saw it as a personal challenge towards his curse breaking skills and still couldn't detach them. Harry and Hermione groaned at the idea of going back to St. Mungo's after their already lengthy stay after the war. They knew from personal experience that someone from the 's staff would send the whisper of their names and their predicament would be first page news in a gossip rag the next morning.

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Harry asked, pulling his arm down frustratingly and accidently yanking Hermione down. He shot her a look of apology while she mumbled under her breath something he figured to be unpleasant.

"I don't think so." Remus answered, looking as defeated as his wife. "There are spells we've tried on the Black portrait but that's a painting so it's no harm no foul if something chips off or gets scratched. We have no idea how those spells would react on joined humans and I certainly don't want test it as I'm sure it would only result in a lot of unnecessary pain on both your parts."

"Can someone floo Madam Pomfrey instead? Anything but St. Mungo's." Hermione said finally, her voice sounding tired rather than upset. Ron stepped up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her stepping back in surprise as she shrugged him off with a jerk of her shoulder. Harry opened his mouth to say something but thought the better of it. On one hand, he understood it was an accident but on the other he wanted to strangle his best friend. He knew, however, if he came to Ron's defense that the person he was currently attached to would attack him instead.

He let Hermione pull him back into the house while everyone else trailed behind.

"Ginny, you and Ronald get the table sorted." Molly instructed, shooing her two youngest children into the kitchen. The older woman busied herself in insisting everyone stay to eat, putting up a hard fight against Remus and Tonks before letting them go with a sad smile. She had gotten used to the bustling noises that was her home throughout the war, back when there were always mouths to feed and people to tend to. Though she had an already large family, the house seemed quiet and while Percy hadn't come to his family until the day of the final battle, it seemed as if the house ached for its missing resident. There were times where she would stare at her clock, almost as if searching for the face of her third child. Harry figured that was why she insisted he live with them at least until his Auror training finished and he was happy to oblige.

Hermione pulled Harry to the couch, sitting down in a frustrated huff as they watched everyone else get ready for dinner.

"Are you sure you don't know any spells for this?" He asked, lifting their hands and shaking it a bit.

"If I did, I'd have tried it by now. Every spell, charm and hex I know to undo something like this usually ends in a hole being blasted. Besides, I've had a busy year trying to figure out how to destroy soul fragments of an evil wizard…sticking charms were the least of my worries." She told him, putting a hand to her face and groaning. He snorted in response, leaning back onto the couch.

"And I thought I was busy, you know, saving the world. Not to mention the fact that I died." He told her sarcastically, a wiry smile on his face as she shot up and glared at him. He laughed as she turned and punched him in the shoulder with her free hand. She made a face at how ineffective a punch seemed to be from her left hand.

"Don't joke about that Harry." She chastised, turning away from him completely her arm awkwardly pulled behind her back. His face softened and pulled at her arm gently, watching as she turned around with a look on her face that was clearly annoyed with him.

"I didn't mean to make you upset. Think of it this way, we could have been at war when Ron did this or he could've glued our heads and feet together." He told her, earning a small smile in return. She pushed his shoulder lightly, showing him that she was no longer angry. They sat quietly for a while, listening to the faint arguing going on in the room between the Weasleys when Harry spoke once more.

"I think you're doing the right thing going back to school." He told her, leaning back as she quickly turned to face him.

"Harry, you have no idea what that means to me. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy for wanting to go back, especially Ron." She told him, her voice cracking a bit as she said it. He squeezed their connect hands and gave her a small smile, feeling bad that she was so shocked over him supporting her. He felt the back of his neck grow hot under her grateful stare and he nodded, shrugging his shoulders.

"I guess he's just going to miss you. He doesn't want to lose you." Harry told her, suddenly feeling the common awkwardness that was always associated with talking about their relationship. He watched as she sighed and turned away from him.

"He's going to lose me if he doesn't stop trying to dictate my life." She said it so softly that Harry had to wonder if she even said it at all. He wanted to ask her if she truly meant it, only to be sidetracked when they heard Molly calling them to the table for dinner. Hermione stood, squaring her shoulders and pulled at his arm, tugging him along. Harry smiled once again as it seemed whether they were physically connected or not, Hermione always seemed to be leading the way.

The good mood from their earlier chat diminished after a few minutes of dinner. As Hermione was right handed, she found herself awkwardly trying to cut into her food with her left. They had already successfully knocked over their drinks as one of them tried to grab the cup while the other decided to lean across the table for the rolls. Harry shot her an annoyed glance as she jerked her hand under his in order to grab the salt and she returned it when he pulled it back too quickly and effectively shook the salt onto the tablecloth rather than her food.

The rest of the table, however, seemed to find their inability to function rather amusing. Although the twins where mostly silenced by their mother's glare they grinned at the spectacle silently, making both Harry and Hermione feel even more like freak show performers. Bill snorted as they jerked their connected hands back and forth and grinned a bit as his father tried to look disapproving of him when really he looked just as amused as he. Ginny continued patting Harry on the shoulder in pity and even Ron could tell that his best mate was beginning to grow tired of it while Ron continued staring at Hermione apologetically, only to be ignored.

Just as Hermione pushed away her plate and was ready to state that she'd lost her appetite, a call came through the floo.

"Ms. Granger? Mr. Potter?" They both stood up quickly, this time Harry leading the way towards the fireplace. The sound of chairs dragging across the floor could be heard as the dinner table rushed along with them to see what Madam Pomfrey would say. The duo stopped at the fireplace as stern looking school nurse was sticking her head into the floo, waiting for them.  
>"We're here, Madam Pomfrey!" Hermione informed her, the two standing awkwardly in front of the fiery head.<p>

"I just got word from Nymphadora about your situation. I'll need to see you both immediately as I can't do much from here. Since there aren't any students here yet, Minerva has given you both permission to stay in the infirmary until we can remedy this. If the two younger Weasley's are there, you'd best inform them that unless THEY are stuck together, they have no business coming along. This is an infirmary, not a playroom. Now, pack up for the next few days and hurry along. Don't dawdle as we have much to look over."

The older woman disappeared with a soft roar of the fireplace without leaving either of them any time to say anything back. The two stared slightly agape at the fireplace, silent as they mulled over their instructions.

"I don't care what that old bat says. I'm going with-" Ron stopped himself short as he received a silencing glare from his mother. Ginny tugged at a long red strand of hair, her brows furrowed at the fact that Harry would be leaving. She and Hermione were both going back to school in two weeks which meant she also had two weeks left to spend with her war hero of a boyfriend. She looked over at Harry who seemed conflicted on whether to scream or sigh in defeat and then looked down at their hands. She began tearing up as she realized that they might not see each other until Christmas and turned to run upstairs.

"Ginny dear, it's alright." Molly called after her.

Harry watched as she left unsure if he wanted to comfort her or yell at her for being selfish. Afterall, he thought, it wasn't like she was the one that was stuck to another person or getting their own summer cut short because of it. He looked over at Hermione who seemed to be nursing her forehead for the millionth time of the day.

"We need to go upstairs. I need to get my things." Harry told her, his voice a bit more sharper than he intended. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing as he turned to lead the way. Ron opened his mouth to say something to them as they passed but thought the better of it as they walked by without so much as a glare in his direction.

* * *

><p>Harry grabbed Hermione's shrunken and lightened trunk and placed it atop his clothes in his rucksack, sighing tiredly. They both knew that Madam Pomfrey was most likely waiting impatiently for the both of them but neither made any move to pick up their pace. As they passed Ginny's room, Hermione stopped, feeling awkward as Harry stared at the door for a few moments. While Ginny was no longer crying, she could still be heard complaining to her mother about how unfair the entire situation was and that she demanded Ron be punished somehow. He pushed open the door and both women in the room turned to look at them.<p>

"We're off." Harry announced, earning a frown from them both. Molly stood and pulled the two of them to her for one of her famous bone crushing hugs.

"I'm so sorry, dears. I'm sure Poppy will have you fixed up by tomorrow. Keep us posted on how you're doing." Her voice was soft as she spoke to them. It was as if she was still speaking to their eleven year old selves rather than as adults. She smiled at both of them, turning past them towards the door where she shouted out "RONALD" at the top of her lungs.

Hermione took in the room with a heavy feeling of shame. The armoire stood dilapidated and Ginny's clothes were covered in wood chips.

"We're off." Harry announced once more, this time with fake sarcasm. He threw their arms up in the air in mock excitement. Ginny scoffed, a small but genuine smile on her lips.

"Sorry for running out like that." She told him, standing up and walking towards him. "It's just that-"

She was about to explain further when both heads turned and looked to see Hermione standing as far away as she possibly could, trying desperately to look elsewhere. Their conversation seemed so personal that she felt out of line just being there. They stood there in a sort of thick silence before Ginny continued once more but with a more whispered tone.

"It's just that if it takes a while to fix this, I won't see you til Christmas."

Harry nodded silently and gave her a small smile as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

The three walked down the stairs quietly and stopped just in front of the fireplace. Molly bustled through the room, thrusting a bag in Hermione's arms.

"I don't want you two to go hungry tonight. You barely ate your dinner, not that I blame you. I just want it said that I don't like you two being alone in that big castle so soon after the war. You'd think that Poppy could come here-" She continued grumbling as she hugged both of them, taking a moment to hold each of their face in her hands before letting them go. Arthur pulled her away, a smile on his face. Harry gave Ginny a kiss on the cheek and Hermione looked over to see Ron in the corner, staring at the ground. Harry watched as Hermione stared at him, waiting for him to come over and when it sunk in that he wasn't going to, he pulled her into the fireplace.

"Let's go, Hermione." He told her gently, shooting an angry look over at Ron.

He threw the floo powder on the grow, shouting "HOGWARTS INFIRMARY!"

With a burst of green flame, they were gone.

* * *

><p>AN: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.


	2. Consequences

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>When they arrived through the floo, they both felt suddenly uncomfortable seeing the eerily empty Infirmary. It had been fixed up completely since their last stay and seemed as shiny and bright as a brand new golden galleon. It was of no surprise to either of them that the school nurse had turned what was a war torn and broken hospital for the Light side of the war into what was now an immaculately clean infirmary for the children of Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione both paused before stepping into the room, however, as they felt they could still see the blood and tears of the people they watched die and suffer in the room before them.<p>

They both told themselves that it was the floo ride with two people that made them feel sick – not their memories.

"There you two are. I don't think you need an invitation, come on." The familiar voice jolted them out of their thoughts and they saw Madam Pomfrey on the far side of the room, getting things ready. Obediently, they both walked over to her, seeing that she was preparing an enlarged hospital bed for them.

"Thank you for seeing us on your holiday, Madam Pomfrey." Hermione told her quietly, earning a wave of dismissal from the medi-witch that made both Harry and Hermione smile at one another.

_Some things never change, _they both thought happily. Their smiles vanished at the woman finally turned to give them her full attention.

"Now, let's see your hands. I'll never understand how you both haven't the sense to come here first." She told them impatiently. Hermione put the sack of food down and they lifted their hands up to show her their predicament. The older woman narrowed her eyes at the sight and tapped their hands a few times with her wand. For about a half hour, they sat in front of the older witch and watched as she went through the paces of investigating their problem, hissing in pain as some of the spells she used tended to sting their hands.

They exchanged a curious look between them as the nurse put her hands on her hips in frustration.

"I would have thought you'd be of a better mind not to go placing extremely potent charms on yourselves. It's bad enough you tried to stick to one another but to use the spell at it's maximum power is ridiculous!" She chastised. Harry and Hermione both spoke at the same time, arguing that they hadn't wanted to get stuck to anything but that Ron had cursed them. She listened to them for a few seconds before waving her hand to silence both of them.

"Fine, you didn't do it to yourselves. Regardless of who is at fault, it seems that we're at your worst scenario for this charm as there is nothing I'll be able to do tonight or tomorrow night." She told them in a voice that could only be determined as one a dry sort of pity.

"You mean, we'll be stuck like this for three days?" Harry asked, his eyes wide; Hermione's jaw dropped as he spoke, hoping he was wrong. A wave a relief surged through them as the woman in front of them shook her head at the both of them.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger, I won't be able to do anything for sometime. What I meant to say is that if you're both extremely lucky you could be stuck like this for the next three months." She told them quietly, watching as both patients seemed to have lost all color in their face.

"Three…three…three…" Harry closed his eyes, repeating the word aloud as if he didn't understand it.

"Months...three months…" Hermione mumbled, her eyes wide as she did so.

"Yes. You see, the only known antidote for this of sort sticking charm is a paste that has to be applied not only on a full moon but takes a month to make it remotely powerful enough to undo."

"The last full moon was two days ago!" Hermione cried, feeling as if she were about to start hyperventilating.

"Exactly. Add onto the fact that even if we started the paste tomorrow, we'd still miss the full moon probably by three days. The problem, Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter, is that this is a very complex paste that requires a few very rare and very expensive ingredients. The crushed unicorn horn alone is three times the going rate of a student's wand. You'll need to hope that Professor Sprout's greenhouse still has the more rare plants we need but since the war destroyed so many parts of the castle, well, I highly doubt it will."

Harry found himself glad that they hadn't eaten very much of their dinner as he felt ready to throw up all over the sparkling clean floor.

Madame Pomfrey looked over the young witch and wizard and realized that she may have been too blunt too fast. She took their connected hands and gave it a squeeze, surprising them both. While they were both on good terms with the mediwitch there were only few memories that either had of her being as openly comforting as she was now.

"There's nothing more to be done today. You both should rest and we'll talk about it in the morning when I come to check over you. Until then, well, you know where the baths and the loo are." She let go and the warmth on her face turned back to its usual stern look as she noticed that if it were at all possible, their faces both grew even paler than they had two seconds earlier.

"Come now, speak up. It's not the end up the world." She told them, sounding exasperated.

"Doesn't that mean we'll have to-" Harry cut himself off, feeling too embarrassed to finish his sentence. The medi-witch nodded, looking more annoyed and impatient than anything else.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, you'll need to bathe together and accompany one another to the restroom. I'll send up one of the house elves to help you in and out of your upper garments." She paused to see the reddened faces of both students and shook her head at them.

"You're both adults, I'm sure you can handle it. And if you can't, well tough dung, you're stuck like this. I'll fetch you in the morning when the professors arrive." The older woman turned on her heel, leaving them to their thoughts as she dismissed herself for the night and retried to her quarters. The two Gryffindors sat on the enlarged hospital cot with wide eyes and red cheeks as the realization of their situation began to fully sink in.

They sat that way for a while, not talking and certainly not daring to look at the other. It felt suddenly like their first night on their own had: silent. Before they had left on their quest, there had always been the comfort of noise, especially at night. For Harry, he had felt the comfort of the loud television shows that Dudley or Vernon would watch until the late hours of the night, the sounds of his Gryffindor classmates snoring or the constant noise of the Burrow. Hermione wasn't much different in that sense, falling asleep with ease at the sounds of the busy streets of London or the chattering of Lavendar and Parvarti. The lack of sound had been almost painful for the three of them on that first night and for the many nights that followed. It had been a constant reminder that they were completely alone and it felt as if something were crawling under both friend's skin as the silence of the practically empty castle settled over them.

"I don't want to be the one to explain this to Ginny and Ron." Harry said finally, sounding dejected and worried.

"I don't think Ron has any right to be angry at this point." Hermione told him, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice. She was more worried over telling her parents than anything else and didn't want to imagine the looks on their faces when she explained to them that it was Ron who had caused it in the first place.

"He's your boyfriend, he has SOME right to be mad-"

"Why do you always defend him over me?" Hermione asked him suddenly, sounding exasperated and a bit hurt as she spoke. He wasn't sure if it was the question that threw him off guard or the amount of hurt on her features that caused him the surprise. She looked away from him, shaking her head a little as Harry stared at her blankly. He was silent as the moment replayed in his head as he tried to think of why Hermione would ask that. He had always thought he treated both friends equally; he never took sides.

As if sensing that she was not going to get the answer from him, Hermione began talking once more.

"Here's what we're going to do: We'll talk it over with Professor McGonagall and Sprout tomorrow and then we do our own digging. If we can destroy Voldemort, we can undo this ourselves." She said, moving their hands as if she were trying to shake him off. The movement brought him out of his thoughts and looking over at her once more, he laughed at her determined expression to remove him. They both chuckled a bit and though they both knew that the moment had passed for them to talk about it, the question still played heavy on their minds.

"If we can't fix it ourselves-" He stopped when Hermione suddenly shifted on the bed, her eyes wide. She opened her mouth and closed it again and her face began to redden.

"What?" Harry asked blankly, raising an eyebrow at her.

"We have a more pressing problem." She told him, shifting once more on the bed. His brow furrowed and he motioned for her to continue and secretly wondered what could be more of a problem than what was going on now. He watched as she groaned, hanging her head down in embarrassment.

"I have to pee."

* * *

><p>"I really don't want to do this." Harry said finally, standing outside the bathroom door.<p>

"I am not going to pee with the door open, Harry Potter! It's bad enough that I have to do it with you in there!" Her voice grew high and she shifted on her toes as the uncomfortable sensation filled her body. She hadn't realized how badly she needed to go to the bathroom until they had both relaxed on the cot. Now that they were standing in front of the restroom door, she began feeling like a four year old on a roadtrip who just couldn't hold it.

"I-" Harry started, only to be interrupted by Hermione throwing the bathroom door and pulling them into it. She pointed to the back of the door with a look so serious that Harry thought he might turn to stone.

"You stare at the door and I'll put a deafening charm on you. I'll tap you on the shoulder when I'm finished." She told him quickly. Harry gaped at her and shook his head feverently.

"There's no way you're going to put a deafening charm on me! I've been charmed enough for one day, thank you!" He cried, his free hand instantly moving to cover his ears. Hermione stomped her foot on the ground in frustration, fighting the urge to wiggle helplessly.

"Harry, it won't be permanent! I have to pee and-and-and if you don't do as I say...well then I'm going to be lugging around a dead Harry Potter for the next three months!" She told him, sounding more desperate than angry. Harry groaned loudly and turned around, feeling awkward and tired.

"Fine, just do it." He told her, resigning to their fate. He felt a bubble of complete silence overwhelm him and it was akin to the feeling of having earmuffs on during their mandrake lessons. He could feel Hermione moving behind him and grew infinitely glad that she could take care of her business with one hand. The idea of having to help her out of her jeans was one that he couldn't fathom at this point of the night. He stared at the door to the bathroom stall and focused on the spot of chipped paint in the corner.

As Hermione stood up, her face already red, she found herself in a spot of trouble. While she had no problem undoing her jeans with one hand, she found she couldn't twist her hand the right way in order to button up with one hand. It was almost painful stopping the urge to stomp her foot once more.

"When I see YOUR best friend, I'm going to kill him! Then, I'm going to bring him back to life and kill him again!" She grumbled, trying to bend awkwardly in order to button her pants. Her joined arm felt stiff and underused after just one day and she fought the urge to pull her hand over and help her situation.

"Did you hear what I-" She rolled her eyes at herself as she realized that Harry was still in a deafening bubble. A flick of her wand and she watched as her best friends shoulders sagged in relief at hearing sounds once more. He turned around red faced and raised an eyebrow at the look on her face.

"What now, Hermione?" He asked impatiently, quite aware that he was whining and not caring.

"I need my hand." Hermione told him, suddenly feeling as if the bathroom was shrinking. She grit her teeth and pulled at the waist of her trousers causing him to look down and drop his shoulders once more.

"I hate Ron." He grumbled, causing Hermione to take it as a sign of surrender. The tips of his fingers touched her lower stomach as she zipped and buttoned her pants as quickly as possible and they both threw their arms out between them as soon as she finished. She felt goosebumps under her jeans and where he accidentally touched and chose to happily ignore it.

"Well, that was relatively painless." Hermione announced as they walked out of the bathroom. Harry snorted a laugh and the two stood awkwardly for a moment before Harry nudged her shoulder playfully.

"Not what I had planned for tonight, I'll tell you that much." He joked. Hermione laughed and began walking towards their bags when she felt herself being pulled back. Her brow furrowed and she looked up at Harry wide eyed this time. She groaned and turned towards him with a hand on her hip.

"What?" She asked him. He gave her a dry laugh in return and his free hand moved to the back of his neck.

"Now **_I_** have to take a leak."

The sound of Hermione groaning could be heard as he pulled her into the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Although they had figured out a semi-successful way of using the bathroom the duo found short lived relief in their accomplishment. They made their way over to the hospital baths and stood with blank stares at the large walk-in tub that was only a bit smaller than the Prefect's bath.<p>

"You know, I really never thought I'd say this but...I think we should tell Ginny and Ron before we bathe together." Hermione told him, staring at the shiny looking bathroom that on any other occasion would be a welcome sight. Harry swallowed nervously but nodded in agreement, not wanting to even imagine the reaction both Weasleys would have.

The two walked away from the room and back to their belongings which were back to their enlarged sizes and laid out on the cot next to theirs. The two rummaged through their clothes and picked out something to sleep in.

"I thought Madam Pomfrey was going to send a house elf-" Just as Harry finished his sentence, two pops were heard in the air and before them stood a very small elf accompanied by a familiar big brown eyed one.

"Winky is here for Harry Potter and his Hermy." The elf squeaked proudly. The two stood dumbstruck for a moment before Hermione's loud gasp filled the air and she threw her arms (and Harry's too) around the unsuspecting elf.

"Winky! It's so good to see you!" The witch lifted the small creature off the ground and held her tightly. Winky yelped at first and eventually gave Hermione a pat on the back. Harry smiled at his best friend's reaction and gently pulled her away from the elf.

"She needs to breathe, Hermione." He told her lightly, the same tears threatening his own eyes as he looked at the elf in front of him. It was the first one that either had come into contact with since Dobby had died saving them. While he was happy that Winky was safe (as she had been missing during the battle) he found it hard to look at the elf without thinking of his dear departed friend.

Hermione wiped her eyes quickly and gave him a watery smile, the look in her eyes showing that she was thinking along the same lines. Winky waited patiently as the both of them tried to laugh off the surge of emotion that seeing her had caused. They took in her appearance, her skin tone lighter and her face no longer gaunt looking as it was during her depression. She wore a dark blue toga-like dress that was very unlike the rags they remember her proudly donning and she even wore a pair of bright pink flowery flip-flops.

"Winky, you're wearing clothes." Hermione exclaimed, a fresh batch of tears ready at the sight. The elf nodded and ducked her head bashfully.

"Missus Hermy is right. Winky is wearing clothes and is not thinking she is a bad elf any more." Her voice, while still high pitched, was much easier to understand without the constant hiccuping from before.

After sharing a surprised glance they both smiled proudly at her, Hermione letting the tears in her eyes slide down freely. She sniffed, smiling and laughing at herself for a moment before bending down and looking at the very small elf that currently latched itself onto Winky's leg.

"And who is this?" She asked curiously, her tone the same as if she were speaking to a shy child. Harry looked on curious as well, watching as Winkys face broke into a proud smile.

"She is being Mitsy. Winky and Dobby's daughter."

Their jaws dropped in return and they exchanged looks of disbelief.

"Yours and Dobby's daughter?" Harry asked, earning another patient nod.

"I-I- Dobby never said..." Harry stuttered, feeling flustered over thinking of his brave friend. Winkys ears fell slightly but she nodded sadly.

"Mister Harry Potter was much more important than house elves. Winky and Mitsy understand. Dobby is hero to house elves and is making elves proud." She told them, her voice was sad for a moment and a look of sorrow passed over her. Almost instantly as it came it was gone again and her ears perked up once more and this time she threw her shoulders back, standing up a little straighter.

"House elves are just as important as-" Hermione stopped when she felt Harry squeeze her hand gently and she looked up to see him fighting back his own tears at the little family before him, shaking his head at her. Although she still wanted to argue with the elf, Hermione gripped his fingers back and nodded in understanding before turning back to Winky and Mitsy.

"He was the bravest person I ever met." She told Winky, she bent down low as to look at Mitsy better and smiled sadly. "Mitsy, your dad saved me from a very evil woman. He saved our lives." The little elf's ears perked up and she stepped away from Winky. She looked almost exactly like Winky did with a round nose with wide round eyes and lighter skin. Harry thought it was fitting that she inherited Dobby's sea-green eyes. A pink bow was magically firm atop her head and she wore the same toga styled dress only with pink and white polka dots.

"Mitsy's first job is to help Harry Potter and his Hermy." Winky announced, proudly. They both smiled and bowed at the young elf.

"We're very honored."

* * *

><p>They found, much to their surprise, that getting dressed was much easier that using the bathroom as long as the "keep all eyes away" principal was used. The two elves helped magic their top attire off and on and it was easy enough to change their trousers. Seeing one another in sleeping clothes hadn't been much of a problem as they had lived in such close quarters where Hermione was accustomed to seeing Harry and Ron walk around in boxers before and after bed. For Harry, however, he found it to be a strange feeling as once again she used both hands to pull up sleeping shorts which ended in him trying not graze the length of her leg with his fingertips.<p>

While he had always known and admitted that Hermione was an attractive girl, he never bothered to realize that she was slipping into being an attractive woman. It was a fact that he was starting to see in many colors after only one night as her attire seemed horribly flimsy even if it was still tasteful.

They slipped into the bed, glad to reach the easiest part of their tasks. Sleeping near one another had never been a problem - at least that's what they both reasoned to be true. They'd fallen asleep on the floor of the Burrow together or atop the couch in the common room while next to one another. Yet now, they found themselves feeling as if they'd stumbled on an entirely too intimate situation. They laid on opposite ends of the bed, both wide awake as the only light was the dim moon.

Harry shifted carefully, feeling as if every move he made sounded ten times louder than it actually was. Hermione moved as well and both attempted to get comfortable without touching the other until Harry finally sat up.

"This isn't working." He grumbled, feeling a headache coming on. Hermione sat up slowly, nodding and yawning in response.

"Agreed."

Harry laid back once more and rested on his side in order to face her; Hermione mirrored his movements. They moved their intertwined hands so that their arms were bent between them, resting against Harry's chest.

"This is better." Hermione told him, yawning once more.

"Yeah."

The two laid there quietly, both with their eyes closed though neither sleeping. It wasn't that they weren't physically comfortable but that the idea of being stuck together for so long began to run through their brains. Harry thought of not being able to become an Auror and told himself it wouldn't be that bad. He would be able to join the next training in January if all else failed. He thought of Ginny and sighed as his current attachment meant that they could no longer be physically intimate. A soft sigh from his best friend made him smirk a bit as he thought that at least that meant Ron would be in the same boat as he was.

Hermione's mind ran a different track. She thought of the rumors people would start about them if they knew and about all of Harry's adoring fans that would send her scathing mail once again. After the war, it seemed that the lives of select "war heroes" had become insanely interesting to the wizarding public. Everyone wanted to know their dark personal story, wanted their baby pictures, wanted to be their best friend and as much as they all loved a nice story about their current whereabouts, they all loved a slip of usually unflattering gossip even more. In fact, Witch Weekly had their own column dedicated to friends and family of the three wizards called "Trio Watch."

She began worrying over everything again when Harry's voice interrupted her.

"Do you believe in heaven, Hermione?" He asked, surprising her enough to make her open her eyes and finding Harry staring back at her.

"I- well- we know that something exists. You saw it when you died." Hermione told him carefully. The words fell off her tongue uncomfortably as she hated thinking about that night.

"Right..." Harry answered, trying to close his eyes again. His eyes shot open as he felt Hermione's free hand cup his face.

"It's not your fault that Dobby isn't here with Mitsy." She told him quietly. He found himself leaning into her familiar comforting touch and sighed loudly. He wanted to curse himself for being so obvious when it occurred to him that there was no point in trying to be vague around the clever bookworm.

"Isn't it though? If he hadn't saved us-"

"We'd be decorating the dungeon floor in Malfoy Manor." She said firmly, causing Harry to look at her in surprise. Hermione had been through a lot with him during the war and while he knew her war stories pretty well, there were things that she just didn't talk about with anyone. If he had to put a number one to her list of things not talked about, Malfoy Manor would have it with a gold star.

"If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have won the war. Dobby didn't just die for you, he died for Mitsy and Winky's future. He died for all of us." Her voice, while softer in tone was still strong and he felt the sting of tears as he stared at her.

They didn't say anything else for the remainder of the night and eventually fell asleep with foreheads touching and limbs tangled.

* * *

><p>"I told myself after living in a tent for almost a year that I would always make time for a bath or at least a shower." Hermione told him wrinkling her nose as she said so. "I feel positively rank."<p>

Harry grinned as he watched her pull at her clothes uncomfortably and nodded in agreement.

"You smell positively - OW!" He yelled out as Hermione punched him in the arm.

"Don't finish that sentence." She told him warningly, her face threatening to break out into a smile. Harry grinned and rubbed his arm.

"I actually feel bad for Malfoy. Are you sure you don't wear invisible brass knuckles?" He asked her teasingly, the reminder of her previous punch causing her to blush before she rolled her eyes.

They had woken up in better spirits than they had expected, having slept well for their first night of being stuck together. Neither had commented on just how comfortable they had gotten in their sleep and had no intention on mentioning it all. Harry had woken up with Hermione's thigh between his legs and his free arm holding her to him by his waist. The only thing that seemed to be between them were their connected hands that pressed into their chests. He had woken up to the tickling feeling of curly brown hair on his cheek and when he moved away tiredly he found Hermione's eyes fluttering open as well. The two stayed still for a moment before they heard Madame Pomfrey bustling outside of their privacy curtain, eventually pulling away.

After another fiasco with the bathroom and Harry making fun of the way Hermione brushed her teeth, they found themselves waiting anxiously on their freshly made hospital bed for news from the school nurse.

"Are your parents going to be angry with you?" Harry asked curiously, remembering that it was her plan to leave the Burrow that had essentially caused Ron's outburst. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Probably not angry but disappointed. They were looking forward to spending time with me but that can't be helped. We need to start researching antidotes or reverse charms so that we can get out of this and Hogwart's had the best library. Besides, I don't think my father will take kindly to me sleeping with a boy in the same bed under his roof and there's no way we could walk around my muggle neighborhood like this."

Harry was about to say something when they heard the infirmary doors open and saw their old professors walk in. If it weren't so rude, Harry might've snickered at how strange they looked all together. Professor McGonagall walked in the middle, thin and tall with the same stern look on her face that they'd seen for so many years and her hair in a tight professional bun. Professor Sprout stood at her right, short and rounded with now black and white curly hair going every which way and a cheery smile on her face (not to mention a smudge of dirt by her jaw). The lastly, Professor Flitwick who now walked with a sort of limp stood at the headmistress' left, his short frame barely going past her hips.

The two stood up quickly and greeted them with a smile.

"It's nice to see you Professors, Headmistress." Hermione told them cheerfully while Harry nodded in agreement. The older wizard and witches smiled at them both, exchanging pleasantries before summoning a table and chairs.

"So, what have you got yourselves into this time?" Professor Sprout asked, eyeing their hands carefully as they slid it over the small table.

"They've been charmed together with an Epoximise Maxima spell." Hermione explained, nodding to Filius as his eyes widened.

"Who would do something so silly? Surely they know how permanent that spell is." The charms professor asked in shock. Hermione shook her head while Harry gave off a dry laugh in response. Hermione swore she heard Harry say "one would think" under his breath but chose to ignore it.

"Bill Weasley said that Ron performed accidental wandless magic." Hermione said blandly, not missing the look of annoyance coming from the headmistress.

"How...unfortunate." Professor Sprout mumbled, looking at their hands once more.

"They're going to need to make an extremely strong Gluten Amotio paste that's charmed on the next the next full moon." Madam Pomfrey told them, looking over at the newly arrived professors expectantly. "Pomona, do you have the more rare plants available?"

"Well, the most basic ones I've got in supply but you'll be needing a lot of Luna Drosera root that I don't have and you'll be needin' a mess of moon flower petals that I have but I don't know if they'll be in bloom by next month. Plants do things on their own time, we can only guide them and hope for the best sometimes." Harry looked at her blankly before nodding as if he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Is that why we need to wait until the full moon? All of these, uhh, luna plants?" Harry asked carefully, praying to Merlin that he didn't ask a stupid question. It was the opposite, however, as even Hermione looked pleased that he'd asked the question.

"Yes, unfortunately that is the reason. Those plants release certain reactions under the full moon that enhance their magical qualities." Professor Sprout informed him, looking happy that he showed even a slight interest in her line of work.

"The magical pull that the moon has on many things still baffles us today." Professor Flitwick commented. Harry watched as Hermione nodded with interest as if she were yearning to ask more questions but was biting her tongue.

"Neville will be here in a week and I'll have him work on this at the start of his apprenticeship. The other plants you'll need will be matured so he'll be able to focus on the ones we're unsure about. I'll do a bit of digging for the Luna Drosera and see if I can get a good supply as soon as possible."

"Now, I've already sent word to our dear Professor Slughorn. He'll be the one that will make the paste for you two, though I expect he'll like to see you both personally from time to time to assist him as he is doing this in his spare time." The headmistress rolled her eyes as the word 'assist' rolled off her tongue and the glued students returned the look as they knew what they would have to endure from the man.

"So, that's it then? There isn't any other way out of this other than waiting for the paste to work?" Harry asked them pleadingly. The older witches and wizard looked at him with an amount of pity that annoyed him more than consoled him and he took their silence as a sure answer.

"Surely there has to be something, I mean, Harry and I could research it straight away to try -" Hermione was cut off by the former transfiguration professor.

"I wish there were something else to be done but you know as well as I that we would have the solution by now if there were. Obscure remedies like these are talents of both Horace and Pomona and this really is the best that can be done." She told Hermione curtly, sounding a bit annoyed with the fact that she was doubting their knowledge. Harry looked over at his best friend and found that she had hunched her shoulders a bit after the comment was made, her eyes downcast.

"I might have a charm that could prove helpful." Filius chimed in suddenly, causing both of them to look up with hope in their eyes.

"Really?"

"What is it?" They asked simultaneously.

"I could try to see if the spell reacted just to your skin. If it did then I might be able to help so that you can move around easier by confusing the charm into being fufilled as long as you're touching." He told them, piquing Hermione's interest.

"You mean we'd still have to maintain skin contact at all times but we could, for instance be leg to leg and our hands would be free?" They both smiled as he nodded.

"In theory, yes. I'll have to do a bit of research on the spell so it might be a few days before I can do that." He told them carefully.

"Wow, I'd read all about charm confusion but-" Hermione had begun talking excitedly when Madame Pomfrey gave her a meaningful look that it was not the time. Harry watched as the excitement left her face once more and she stopped herself, suddenly feeling bad for her. It was obvious that she was hungry for knowledge and that she was trying her best to be respectful of the people she was sitting amongst. It made him realize how much of a right decision it was for Hermione to go back to school.

"Well I guess, that's that. When Professor Slughorn gets here tomorrrow, I'll have him give you a list of potion's ingredients that you'll need to get." The Headmistress stopped herself from continuing and looked at the other professors who took the hint that it would be their time to take their leave. With short goodbye's, the charms and herbology professors walked out of the infirmary alongside the school nurse. A heavy feeling sat in their stomachs as the headmistress eyed them both carefully before continuing.

"I'm sure you're both aware of what it means to be attached in such a way." Her voice was careful and forced, almost as if she didn't want to have this part of the conversation. Hermione's face scrunched up confusedly and she chanced a worried look at Harry as it sounded like she wasn't just referring to how close they'd need to be for the next few months.

"I was under the impression that you would be joining the Auror's in just a few months, Mr. Potter." Hermione looked over at him silently as if appraising the level of distress that she assumed would surface. Harry shifted uncomfortably under their gaze and nodded affirmatively.

"I was- I mean, I am planning on it but if there isn't anything we can do about this then I'll have to start training during their next enrollment in the Winter."

Though he had spent the previous night mulling over the fact, he suddenly felt tired now that he had said it out loud. There had been such excitement for he and Ron when they had gotten their acceptance into the fall program at the Auror Academy and now it would not be a reality for almost another five months. It also meant that he wouldn't become an officer alongside his other classmates that had chosen the DMLE as their choice of occupation and the thought annoyed him greatly. He suddenly wanted to curse both of his best friends for not being able to control their arguing.

Hermione looked at him concernedly and was about to ask if he was alright when the headmistress spoke again.

"I wish your case was as simple, Ms. Granger."

The younger witches face turned to one of shock as she whipped her head back to the direction of the sad looking woman.

"What do you mean? Just because we're stuck together, well it shouldn't effect my studies, I-"

Words began spilling out of her mouth in protest before she could control herself as the idea of not being able to attend school suddenly struck her like a ton of bricks. She felt the same helplessness that had attacked her during her their hunt for the horcruxes and Harry thought that she suddenly looked like a scared animal being backed into a corner.

"There are a lot of issues with you being...attached...like this, as I'm sure you know. If you were to attend school, both of you would have to attend all classes together even though you both aren't on the same academic level. Also, there would be suspicion from the students as to whether one or both of you were cheating due to the fact that you were attached. I'm sure you're also aware of the schools policy on any intimate interactions between students..."

"Professor, surely you aren't suggesting that Harry and I-" Her face was red at that point and the Harry stayed silent as she began getting frustrated.

"I'm not, Ms. Granger but as Headmistress to this school need to be able to address the accusations the school will encounter. You both naturally attract media attention and we're both aware that by the end of the first night of school parents and magazines alike will be receiving the news that the two of you are physically attached to one another. I have to think of the influence that you'll have over the other students, even if you don't mean to." While it looked as if the strict Headmistress sounded firm, Harry could tell that she was remorseful in the way she looked at both of them.

Hermione, on the other hand, seemed to be at the strange stage of panic that came before hyperventilating. She began bouncing her leg nervously and Harry could feel her hand ball in and out of a fist as she tried to let the information sink it.

"But we - isn't there any possible way to make an exception? I worked so hard, professor. I-" Hermione's voice began to crack and Harry watched helplessly as her eyes began to glaze over in the way that made his stomach clench uncomfortably. While he hated it when any woman, girl or child cried - he especially hated it when Hermione cried.

It was at her plea that the Headmistress sighed and her usually perfect posture broke into a tired slump.

"Ms. Gra- Hermione... with this being the first year after the war, Hogwarts and the wizarding world has an image to rebuild. With the fame you've both been thrust into, it's a distraction to the other students to have something like this in the hallways and in the classrooms. I've already gotten reports of students trying to purposely scar their foreheads. I don't know what how the school can survive if students start gluing themselves to one another. The school needs to take an immediate stance on equality for all students across the board. You know what people say about women who sleep with men-"

"Professor! We didn't chose this! Hermione isn't some common slag!" Harry suddenly interjected, growing angry at the implications behind what she was telling them. The woman narrowed her eyes and straightened her shoulders before answering.

"I know that, Mr. Potter, I thought I made it quite clear that I don't wish to do this. I wasn't suggesting that she was." She told him curtly. Harry stared at her for a moment while Hermione bent over the table, hiding her face in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Hermione but the school governors have been very clear on what they want done this school year. You can take your N.E.W.T's once we've taken care of this problem but as you'll be missing a third of the school year by the time we hopefully remove the spell..."She trailed off and looked at Harry tiredly. He turned his head away, not wanting to look at her at the moment. The three sat there in a prolonged awkward silence until the headmistress stood up to leave.

"You're welcome to stay here in the guest wing until September 1st. It will give you both two weeks to acclimate to your situation before having to be in the public eye."

She reached out and put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and squeezed it tightly for a moment. The younger witch froze for a moment before she began shaking silently and the professor left without another word.

Harry suddenly felt trollish for being annoyed with her earlier. Hermione looked so small in that moment, worst than she did when Ron had left them during their time on the run. He pulled her to him and although it was awkward because of the way their arms were stuck together, he let her throw her free arm around his neck and cry into his shirt.

It's what best friends are for.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for reading. Please review. -Lyssa


	3. Acceptance

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

><p>When Hermione had finished crying, she did the worst thing he could possibly imagine: she went silent. It wasn't the silence he was used to from her. He could handle the disapproving silence that she gave him when he said or did something that she disliked. He could handle the silence that came while she was deep into her studies or even when she was silently angry with him. This time, however, it was thick and deadly and the look of unadulterated rage in her brown eyes made him uncomfortable. He wanted to say something to her but really didn't know what.<p>

Harry knew that finishing her education had been her way of coping through the war. When they were on the hunt, she'd talk about how when the war was over they could be normal kids, struggling with assignments rather than fighting for their lives. Now, it was like she had worked hard on finishing a puzzle only to be told in the end that someone decided to tell her in the end that a piece was missing, like it was her fault that it was gone but it was gone nonetheless.

"Let's get a bite." Harry said nervously upon hearing the sounds of both their stomachs growling. She didn't move or make any indication that she had heard him and the uncomfortable feeling he got whenever he dealt with an upset woman began to grow thicker. Just as he was going to open his mouth once more, two small pops startled him.

"Winky and Mitsy is here to bring Harry Potter and Hermy Granger lunch." Winky announced proudly while Mitsy nodded her head in agreement.

Harry gave them a forced smile as he was still not used to seeing any sort of house elf. He looked warily at Hermione and saw that her face softened a bit at seeing the two in front of her.

"Uhh Winky, I don't think Hermione is-"

"HER-MY-KNEE." A confident voice interrupted and all three looked down to see a smiling Mitsy looking at all of them. Winky pat her head gently and Harry watched as Hermione smiled at her.

"I'd like it very much if you called me that, Mitsy." Hermione told her gently, patting her on the head just at Winky had done before. The little elf beamed up at her and Harry watched in amusement as she tried to hide her excitement.

"Mitsy is seeing you sad, HER-MY-KNEE." The elf spoke once more, earning a "tsking" noise from her mother. She looked up at Winky, confused as to why she was being reprimanded.

"It's quite alright, Winky." Hermione assured her, smiling at them. "You're very observant, Mitsy, as I am a bit sad right now." Harry looked over at her to see that the fire that had been in her eyes earlier had dulled a bit and he was glad. He squeezed her hand tightly and when she looked up at him, the two held the each other's stare as if they were silently communicating with one another. It wasn't until she gave him the slightest of nods to signal that she wasn't angry with him that he released his grip on her hand and the two looked back over at the house elves.

Mitsy watched the witch and wizard almost pensively before jumping up and grabbing their joined hands.

"Mitsy can make HER-MY-KNEE better." She proclaimed, pulling them with all of her might. Winky shook her head and tried to once again reprimand her when Harry put his hand on her shoulder, letting her know that it was alright. They stood up (to the small creature's joy) and began following the two elves as they led the way out of the infirmary.

They followed for a while longer, down the empty steps of the entrance floor and near the dungeons.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked lamely, aware that although the halls were empty his voice still traveled quite loudly. He knew it was a silly question but he felt even sillier not asking it.

"No, I'm really not." She told him, her voice almost unrecognizable. It made him think that last night seemed almost like a happy tone compared to how horribly bitter she sounded now.

"What will you do?" He asked carefully, cringing as he thought of how she would break the news to her parents. She tensed a bit and he watched as her jaw clenched and the wheels in her head turned for a moment.

"I don't know. I haven't had enough time to think about it." Harry narrowed his eyes at her a bit as her voice came at rougher than it needed to but he let it go. He knew it wasn't him that she was angry with, just the rest of the world…and Ron.

They didn't say anything after that, instead they listened to the no longer shy house elf continue telling Hermione that she had the right thing to make her feel better. As they walked down the corridor, they saw the familiar portrait of the bowl of fruit and Mitsy clapped excitedly as they arrived at it.

"Mitsy is still young-" Winky told them, trying to apologize and sounding exhausted with her talkative offspring. Hermione smiled at her politely and Mitsy continued bouncing up and down, waiting for one of them to tickle the pear.

"Really Winky, it's not a bother. She's a lot like Dobby." Harry assured her, raising his eyebrows as Winky's eyes watered appreciatively. Hermione tickled the pear, smiling as it squirmed a bit and giggled under her fingers until eventually turning into the door handle to the kitchens. As they pulled it open, neither was prepared for what they saw.

Amongst the fray pf working elves were ones with all sorts of clothing on. She saw one with a T-shirt that fit like a long dress and another with what looked like a Minnie Mouse bow atop her head. If it weren't for the fact that she was connected to Harry, she thought that she might've fallen to her knees in shock. Harry, just as surprised, looked at the sight before him with a look of awe. The two looked at one another and watched as a wide smile graced the others face.

"I can't believe it. There's so many of them, Harry." Without meaning to, she leaned into him and the two watch the dedicated workers keep themselves busy.

"Dobby did this…" She whispered proudly, her fingers rested on her lips as she watched them work. Harry turned to look at her once more, watching her face as she stared out at them. He wasn't sure if it was the love she had shown for the house elves or the closeness they'd grown into for the past year but he leaned over and whispered to her.

"You did this too."

* * *

><p>They sat amongst the elves for a long time, listening to how Dobby had become a hero to their little community. Hermione smiled as Mitsy sat in Harry's lap the entire time and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't bother him as much as she thought it would. While Harry adored his godson, he was always so frightful to hold him or even touch him. It was nice to see him so comfortable with the excited girl. She was also surprised at how the little elf was right: she knew exactly what would change her mood.<p>

While he was busy chatting, Hermione took a moment to appreciate how great he was being. She had expected him to be angry with her once the realization hit that he wouldn't be able to join the Auror program alongside Ron and she hoped it wasn't because of the comment that she had made the night prior. He was also being rather caring towards her emotional state, something that he usually avoided like the plague. Then lastly, she thought of the comment he made when they had arrived in the kitchen and she could feel the blush on her face.

"Alright there, Hermione?" She jolted out her thoughts to see that Harry and three other house elves were looking at her curiously and she shook her head.

"Yes. I was just thinking that it might be a good idea for us to floo the Burrow. They're probably waiting for word from us and Cosette is still with my parents. Speaking of my parents, I have a lot that I need to talk to them about. They're probably worried about me." Hermione told him, smiling at the disapproving look on Mitsy's face. She was about to say something when Winky pinched her arm and looked at her pointedly. She had to grin at how different Winky was now that she was a mother.

Harry frowned at the idea of going to the Burrow, especially after the news that they'd received.

"I don't think it will go over well." Harry told her, earning a nod from Mitsy in agreement.

"I agree, which is why we need a plan. I don't know about you but I really don't want to sleep in the same bed in the same house as your girlfriend and Ron." Hermione told him, resisting the second helping of cake that Winky was trying to push her way. Harry wanted to ask why she didn't refer to him as her boyfriend but thought the better of it.

"And I don't want to sleep in the same bed and bathe in the same bathroom while your parents are in the next room." Harry chimed in.

"Well we have to live somewhere, Harry." Hermione countered, not seeing the elves grin as she dipped her finger in the frosting as she talked.

"Somewhere, yes, but not there." He told her, earning a smear of chocolate frosting on his cheek. Harry blinked at her as she chuckled at him, watching as she dipped her finger in the frosting once more. He narrowed her eyes at her for a second before surprising her by pulling her closer to him and pressing his cheek against her arm causing her to yell out and try to pull away. Just as he were about to raise his head to grin triumphantly, Hermione made another line on the opposite side of his face.

The two laughed at each other for a long time while the Mitsy watched confused as to why putting food on ones face was entertaining. As the little elf was about to ask, she was nudged by her mother who only held a knowing smile on her face.

"You realize now we'll definitely have to bathe tonight." Harry told her suddenly. Hermione's face went slack for a moment and they stared at one another before breaking out into laughter again.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure we can't go to the Burrow first?" Harry grumbled as they walked down the street of the muggle neighborhood. He rubbed his cheek once more as the sticky feeling from the frosting was beginning to annoy him.<p>

"They're my parents- they come first." She told him in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How are you going to explain this again?" Harry asked worriedly as they reached the front gate to the home rolling his eyes as Hermione squared her shoulders and held her head high.

"We're going to explain this calmly and rationally." She told him as she pushed through the gate and walked up the pathway to the house. Harry groaned aloud and tried to tell himself to find his Gryffindor courage while the sane part of his brain was telling him that it was perfectly normal to panic before telling a man he was glued to his daughter.

"Harry, we discussed this before we left and it'll be fine." She assured him, opening the door to the house and searching for her parents. Harry could see Cosette perched on the window sill and swore that even the bird knew that they were in for it.

"Really, it's alright. Just let me do the-" They were interrupted as they saw Jasper Granger come down the stairs. Harry steeled himself, wishing it was a death eater instead. A mantra of the word 'courage' played in his head and he was afraid he'd get sick.

"There you are Button, your mother and I were worried that something bad-"

"We're glued together for three months and there's no other way for us to detach ourselves."Harry burst out, holding their hands in the air.

Hermione groaned and started rubbing her temple in an attempt to prevent the headache that she knew was bound to start pounding away. Jasper froze on the last stair, his mouth opened and closed as he tried to figure out just what to say in response.

"Are you taking a piss?"

Harry blinked at him and shook his head while Hermione rolled her eyes.

"No, Daddy, he isn't. Can you get mum so I can explain what's going on?" Hermione pleaded, shooting Harry a dirty look before dragging Harry to the dining room table. Harry forced out a laugh as Jasper's eyes followed them curiously before leaving to get his wife.

"Really, Harry? Really?" Hermione asked him, the disbelief on her face and in her voice evident.

"I panicked!" His face was growing red and once again he rubbed at his skin to wipe off the stickiness of the frosting. He glared at Hermione as she slapped his hand away much like she'd done when he tried to touch her time turner in third year.

"Oh? I hadn't noticed." She mocked, earning a groan from him as he plopped down on one of the dining room chairs.

"Your dad could kill me-"

"How in the world did you kill Voldemort-"

"This is different! You wouldn't know because you're a girl and on some level girls secretly enjoy the fear that their fathers and brothers give us guys." He was practically yelling but his nerves were so high that it sounded comical mixed with the pointing of his finger at her accusingly. Hermione opened her mouth to argue and shrugged her shoulders instead, a small grin forming on her face when Harry muttered under his breath something along the lines of 'I knew it.'

"You had every right to be nervous, Harry, but honestly…you were about as subtle as machine gun in a library. What happened to letting me talk calmly and rationally?" She asked him.

They could hear her mother's worried voice as she and her father bounded down the stairs and Harry felt the need to slip under the table and not be seen. Before he could answer her, the two teens sat up properly as Hermione's parents walked into the room. Jasper gave them both a confused look before sitting opposite of them while a worried Aurélie Granger rushed over and hugged her daughter.

"Are you alright, dear?" Her mother asked carefully, her hands on both sides of her daughters face. Hermione smiled and covered her mother's hand with her own.

"I'm sorry for worrying you." Hermione told them genuinely, earning a sad smile from her mother.

Ever since they had returned from Australia her parents constantly worried for her and while most of the time it was unwarranted, Hermione felt that tug of happiness in just knowing that they knew who she was again. Her mother smiled and kissed her forehead before turning to smile at Harry.

"It's nice to see you again, Harry." Aurélie told him, squeezing his shoulder as she passed him to sit down.

"It's nice to see you again as well, Mrs. Granger."

There were times where Harry couldn't believe how alike Aurélie Granger and her daughter were. Physically, they shared the same petite build and the almost all the same features except for the fact that Aurélie had wavy blonde hair. What threw him off though were the little things that Hermione seemed to inherit, like the way he watched her mother cup her face the same way she had done to him the night before. There were even moments when the older woman would smile and he swore the same genuine look in her eyes was the one he'd grown familiar with in Hermione. Jasper, on the other hand was the opposite of his wife, a tall man with a strong build and a dark brown hair and dark eyes. After getting to know the man even for a little when they went to Australia, he knew that the man was where Hermione earned her unwavering strength and tenacity. He also knew it was where Hermione got her sometimes odd sense of humor.

"So, care to explain what Mr. Potter told me a few minutes ago?" Jasper asked, sounding more curious and disbelieving than angry. Harry opened his mouth to apologize when Hermione shot him a look to let her talk; he was only too happy to oblige.

"Do you remember when I was about eight and I got detention from the librarian?" Hermione asked, causing Harry to sit up and look at her in shock.

"Yes-"

"You got detention?" Harry blushed at realizing that he interrupted her parents while her mother just chuckled. He watched as Hermione's face grew red with embarrassment.

"It wasn't my fault. I wanted a book from the adult fiction section and the school librarian told me that I wasn't old enough to read them. The reason I got detention was because I accidentally magicked three of the books that I wanted to my table and when she saw the covers of what I was reading gave me detention for it." She told him, a bit flustered at the idea of getting into trouble in school. Harry had to grin at that, amazed that she would still get upset even after all of the trouble they had gotten into during their friendship.

"The woman who came to speak to us after you got your Hogwarts letter said that it was accidental magic. I thought she said that once you went to Hogwarts, those sort of things would stop happening." Aurélie asked, sounding confused and a bit skeptic.

"Well, she wasn't lying but there's more to it than just controlling your magic." Hermione paused, trying to find the words.

"Magic isn't just something you have that you can turn off and on. It ties into your soul, your emotions. While we all learn to manipulate our magic sometimes we can't help that our emotions get the better of us-" She was beginning to get off topic when she felt Harry squeeze her hand gently and stopped. Harry realized that it wasn't explaining how this happened but why it happened that was hard for Hermione to say. Let's face it, he thought, no one wants to admit to their parents that their partner screwed up so badly.

"You see, there was a bit of heated argument between our group of friends. In the middle of the argument, Hermione and I ended up grabbing onto my rucksack at the same time and somehow between the three of us an accidental charm was used that glued us together." Harry told them, lifting their adjoined hands in the air. Her parents were stunned for a moment but seemed to accept their excuse before springing into questions. It took a while but eventually Hermione calmed them down.

"Is it permanent?" Her dad asked carefully.

Hermione exchanged a look with Harry and the two shook their heads.

"It's not permanent but we will be stuck like this for some time." Hermione tried gently, watching as her parents eyebrows raised.

"The healer at Hogwarts that specializes in obscure charms like this said that the soonest we could possibly be detached is in three months." She told them, cringing a bit.

"Three months? What-what-what about school or work or-or your common privacy?" Her mother asked.

"The only way for us to counteract the spell is a Gluten Amotio paste. It's the only thing potent enough to get us unglued. The problem is that the only reason it's so potent is that a few of the ingredients are plants that give off chemical reactions on a full moon."

"Which if I'm correct was a few nights ago…" Jasper announced, rubbing his face tiredly as he took in the information. Hermione looked at her mother and father with a look of shame on her face that made Harry look away. He hated that this was happening, it wasn't fair.

Their conversation continued and Hermione couldn't help but feel the swell of appreciation growing in her as Harry helped explain their situation to her parents. He was surprised at how calmly they took it and from the look on Hermione's face, she was as well. It wasn't until Hermione began broke down once more to tell them about Harry's delayed training and her denial to go to school that either parent grew genuinely angry. It didn't take long for them to convince Hermione that they would be sending word to Professor McGonagall to set up a meeting with the headmistress and it made Harry yearn for that parental guidance and stability that the Grangers were giving their daughter.

It wasn't until a few cups of tea and hours later that the Grangers felt they were sufficiently informed on the newest development in their daughter's surreal magical life. Even Harry was happier when the Granger's swore that they'd hire a private tutor for three months if it meant she could go back to school when it was all over.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Jasper asked as he realized that it was getting late in the afternoon.

Harry and Hermione exchanged looks and although Hermione wanted to stay with her parents, she knew they needed to face their other halves sooner rather than later.

"We haven't gone to the Burrow yet. The Weasley's are probably anxious to hear the news as well…" Hermione told them slowly, hating the look of sad understanding that flashed over her mother's face.

"So you'll be going to the Burrow and then back to Hogwarts?" Her mother asked, slipping an arm around her husband's waist.

"Yes ma'am." Harry answered politely, earning a nod of respect from Hermione's father.

"Harry, I know you two didn't ask for this but I expect you to be on your best behavior with my only daughter." Jasper told them as they walked out of the house. Harry's green eyes widened as the meaning behind his words sunk in and Hermione slapped her father's shoulder.

"Daddy! Honestly!" She admonished, her face growing red once again.

"Don't Daddy me, Button. I was a teenage boy once too and magical or not, boys will be boys." Jasper told her, giving Harry a stern look that he could only swallow nervously to. Aurélie "tsked" him, waving him off and embracing Harry in an attempt to comfort him.

"You'll be a gentleman, won't you Harry?" She asked him kindly.

"Of-of course, a gentleman." Harry told them both, earning an amused smile from Jasper and a trusting one from Aurélie.

"Oh Merlin, goodbye mum and dad." Hermione ground out, properly embarrassed. Before Harry could even wave goodbye to them, Hermione was already pulling him down the pathway and towards the front gate.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Hermione asked carefully, a smirk on her face as Harry gave her a dirty look.

"Oh no, your dad only stared at me the entire time you explained that we needed to sleep and bathe together." He grunted, nearly running into a pole as he wasn't watching where he was going.

They were quiet for a while, Harry still a bit angry at how silly he felt in front of her parents when Hermione spoke again.

"Thank you, by the way." She told him softly as they reached a good spot to apparate. Harry looked at her curiously and she bent her head down, feeling bashful.

"For that lie you told my parents; for not telling them it was Ron. My dad doesn't care for him as it were and even though I'm downright furious with him-"

"He doesn't like Ron?" Harry asked, his anger from earlier gone and replaced with genuine shock at her revelation. He had thought that her father got on pretty well with his best mate and he wondered why it was that Jasper didn't like him.

"I- He just thinks Ron isn't good for me." She told him blandly, not wanting to look at him fully. Harry face scrunched up and he made a mental note to have her explain it more to him when he felt the familiar and unwelcome tug to his navel.

* * *

><p>The afternoon light at the Burrow was beginning to fade out as they walked down the gravel road that led to the house. Even though the war was over, the wards on the house were still placed so that unless side-apparated by someone of Weasley blood, you were sent to the edge of the property. Even though they could see the house in the distance, it was still a long walk and they both secretly wished that her parent's would be hooked up to the floo network already.<p>

"Why doesn't he think Ron is good for you?" Harry asked, earning a sigh from Hermione as she kicked a rock ahead of them.

"Can't we drop this?" Although she asked the question, she knew she wouldn't get the answer she wanted.

"Nope, you're _**stuck **_with me." Harry answered her smartly, grinning at the snort he earned from his bushy haired friend.

"Sometimes I forget how original you are, Harry." She told him playfully, nudging his shoulder with hers. He laughed and nudged her back.

"Don't drop the subject." He told her, sending the pebble that she kicked earlier farther down the path.

"I thought you didn't take sides, Switzerland." She told him with a grin, earning a grunt in reply before waving her on impatiently to answer his question.

"Fine." She sighed tiredly and Harry waited impatiently as she thought over how to answer him properly before continuing. "It's just that, well, Ronald is not the man my father sees as being compatible with me. My dad thinks that he doesn't respect my ideals the way that a boyfriend should and he thinks that Ron doesn't try hard enough to understand the muggle world. He just didn't give off a very good first impression in Australia."

He was surprised that she didn't sound angry or distraught at the things that she was telling him but rather defeated instead.

What shocked him more was that he couldn't think of any valid argument against her father's concerns. He had always known that at some point, Hermione and Ron would be together but upon thinking on it now, he didn't see them continuing on together. It was true that Ron didn't see the point in most of the things Hermione found important and he even remembered how Ron grew easily frustrated during their time in the muggle world despite their attempts to help him. Just as he was growing lost and quite disturbed by his thoughts, he heard Hermione calling for his attention.

"Harry!" She yelled, causing him to realize that not only was she yelling at him but that they had stopped walking all together.

"Sorry, just thinking." Harry told her, shaking off his thoughts for the moment and giving her a tight smile.

"Oh, well alright. Well, I was just saying that I hope you won't tell anyone about what I just told you. I don't want anyone to think badly of my parents because of their opinion of Ron." She told him nervously.

Harry shook his head and assured her that he wouldn't, all the while the thought in his head told him _"Don't you mean, think badly of __Ron__?"_

They walked silently after that until they finally reached the Burrow. While the house was definitely not traditional in any sense of the word, it was still a wonderful home. Harry always knew that a large piece of his heart was with Hogwarts, but there was always a part that was here as well. Yet this time, when he looked at the house, he felt a horrible sinking feeling in his gut that it wouldn't be a good visit and though Hermione didn't say anything as they walked into the house – she felt it as well.

As they reached the front door, Harry could hear the Mrs. Weasley yelling that they had arrived and both weren't surprised as the door was thrown open before they could turn the knob.

"Come in, my dears! Oh, you poor things had to walk from the property line? You must be hungry!" Molly told them both, hugging them each in turn before dragging them into the kitchen.

"We've been worried sick about you two! Been wondering when you'd drop in to give us the news." She told them, summoning two plates from the cupboard. Harry and Hermione could only smile as the older woman fussed over them and shared a look as they heard Ron and Ginny's arguing grow closer and closer to the door. Molly turned around with a look of annoyance as they entered the room, bickering.

"I swear, if you two don't stop all this fighting…" Her threat trailed off on a threatening note and the two siblings rolled their eyes before turning their attention towards Harry and Hermione.

"How did it go?"

"Do they fix it?"

Harry and Hermione shared a look, trying to silently communicate to the other as to who would answer their questions.

"It didn't go so well actually. We don't have much good news, I'm afraid." Hermione said finally. She raised their hands above the table and showed them that they hadn't been healed, earning disappointed looks across the board. Arthur clapped Harry on the shoulder comfortingly and made a face. Harry had to smile at how no matter the situation, the head of the Weasley clan could make someone feel better without doing very much.

"Madame Pomfrey, Professor Sprout and Professor Slughorn are going to work together on a paste that will eventually undo the charm." Harry told them, raising a hand to stop them from getting too excited. He looked at Hermione before she sighed and continued where he left off.

"That's the good news. The bad news is that we're going to be stuck like this for at least three months." Hermione told them. Molly gasped, forgetting the food that she was fixing up for them and staring at them in shock. Ginny's hands were covering her mouth while Ron reminded Harry of the old cartoon Dudley used to watch in the morning for the redness in his face seemed to be filling up from his neck up.

"What do you mean, three months?" Ron practically barked out, earning a sharp glare from his best friend and girlfriend.

"What we mean, Ronald-" The venom in her voice unmistakable as she pronounced his name. "Is exactly what we said. Three months. WE will be STUCK for THREE months." She told him, speaking slowly and purposefully as the anger that she didn't unleash the day before began to surface.

"Is there nothing else they can do?" Molly asked, sending a glare Ron's way that made him close his mouth. Harry looked at Ginny who was silently staring at their joined hands before looking up to address Molly.

"No. The only reason we have to wait the three months is that there are plants used in the paste that have to be added in on a full moon-that is if we can get them in time. Professor Sprout said she'll need to see if she can find them by the next full moon." He explained, looking over at Hermione to see her glaring at Ron.

"That means that you'll be going to school with us then?" Ginny finally said, her voice sounding a bit more hopeful than Harry liked. He was always under the impression that Ginny was completely happy with his choice to forgo his last year of schooling. His jaw tightened a bit as he knew how hard it would be for Hermione to explain this part of their situation for the second part of the day.

"Actually, as of this morning, Professor McGonagall will not be accepting my attendance at Hogwarts." Hermione told them quietly, earning another round of shocked gasps. She looked up to see that Remus, Tonks, Bill and Fleur were standing at the doorway listening in.

"Sorry for intruding, dad flooed us to say that they'd arrived…" Bill told them trailing off with a tone that said just how awkward he felt then.

"We caught the part about the three months. I'm assuming they're using an type of Amotio paste?" Bill asked, earning a nod from both Harry and Hermione.

"Why wouldn't they let you into school though Hermione?" Remus asked as he was quite aware of how crushing the new development must be for the Gryffindor.

As calmly as she could, Hermione explained the reasoning behind Professor McGonagall's decision. She was thankful that Harry had slid their hands under the table once more, appreciating the pressure he applied whenever her voice would crack even in the slightest way.

"That is 'orrible!" Fleur yelled, earning a nod of agreement from her husband. Tonks and Remus spoke quietly amongst one another while Molly shook her head at the news.

"They can't just dismiss you over this, I mean I understand their concern because of your influence but who's to say you can't go back to school once you're separated?" Bill told them, earning murmurs of agreement from almost everyone in the room. Harry said nothing as he realized that it was the once piece of information that Ron didn't get angry about. He looked over at Hermione who hadn't seemed to noticed Ron's small look of happiness and shared a look with Ginny who seemed to have caught it as well.

"Well my parents are going to meet with Professor McGonagall as soon as possible. They're going to try and work something out." She told them quietly.

"What about you, Harry? Your Auror training starts October first." Tonks asked suddenly, turning the attention on him, much to his dismay. Harry explained to them that he would have to speak with the recruitment head of the Auror sector of the DMLE about postponing his start date until the January term. The information earned him looks of pity and understanding that irked him rather than comforted him. It was getting to the point where while he had been glad to be there earlier, he just wanted to go back to the emptiness of Hogwarts already.

"There is a small spot of good news though. Professor Flitwick might have a spell that could confuse the charm into being satisfied by just our skin touching rather than our hands. If it works then at least we'll get some freedom to move around." Hermione chimed in, receiving a silent thankful look from Harry as everyone began speaking excitedly at the news, forgetting about their attempts to comfort him.

"That's wonderful." Molly told them. Bill looked thoughtful for a moment and shook his head, a grin on his face.

"That's really clever of Filius. Be sure to tell him that if he needs any help with the spellwork that Fleur and I would be happy to assist him." Fleur smiled happily next to him appearing to both Harry and Hermione as eager to help them.

"This may sound like a silly question but how did you get your shirts off from yesterday?" Tonks asked curiously, shifting the conversation to the part that they really didn't want to get into.

"House-elves magicked them off and on. Did any of you know that Dobby had a daughter?" Harry asked, earning somewhat shocked looks around the table. This time, Hermione gave him the look of appreciation and although they knew that they would have to broach the subject eventually, it was nice to be able to avoid it. Ron snorted from where he sat and everyone turned to look at him, causing the smirk on his face to disappear.

"And what, may I ask, is so funny?" Hermione asked angrily. Ron's face went slack and he paled a bit under her deadly glare.

"Nothing. I- nothing at all." Ron answered quickly, attempting to cover up for his slip. Harry shook his head while the other's turned away from the redhead.

"Where is the daughter now? Hogwarts?" Remus asked worriedly, causing Harry and Hermione to worry as well.

"Yes. Winky is her mother. Is something the matter?" Hermione asked, not liking the look on Remus' face. The former professor looked thoughtful for a moment before answering.

"When a house elf is young like that they usually need to magically bond with an owner in order for their magic to mature. I've never heard of there being any young elves like that in Hogwarts." Remus told them. Harry frowned at the thought of Mitsy's magic being in danger over not having an owner and although Hermione was still strongly against the enslavement of the creatures she frowned at well.

"That's not good, what happens if they don't-" She started asking when suddenly they were interrupted.

"I'm sorry but does this mean you slept together last night?"

The eyes of every occupant in the room shifted over to the Ron while he stared over at his best friends. Ginny's mouth opened slightly and she looked over at Harry and Hermione, staring at their touching arms. While it had seemed like an unspoken and understood fact that they had slept in the same bed together, the entire room suddenly felt as if the house were too horribly small to be having this conversation.

"I think we should go." Bill said quietly. His announcement was followed by nods of agreement from Fleur, Tonks and Remus as they all wished to leave the room as quickly as possible.

"Owl us if you need help with the spellwork." Bill muttered lamely as the awkwardness grew thicker by the passing moment. The thought of sitting and listening to the strange romantic squabbles of his two youngest siblings seemed downright wrong to the eldest Weasley brother. Hermione was about to comment when the four adults practically threw themselves out the door. Molly on the other hand, stood staring blankly at her youngest children. It was as if she had just realized that they were worrying themselves with such intimate things and it shocked her a bit.

"Molly, I think we can give these kids our leave. I found something called a remote controlled car that I think you'll find amusing." He winked at Harry would gave him a small smile of gratitude. The four watched as Molly slowly made her way out of the room, escorted by her husband who had begun talking excitedly about his latest addition to the what was fondly known as "The Muggle Cave."

"Well, that's one way to clear a room-"

"So, you did. You slept together?" Ron asked, an edge to his voice that neither of his friends appreciated.

"What did you think, Ron? Did you think we got unglued last night, slept in separate rooms and then glued ourselves back together in the morning?" Hermione hissed, causing Harry cringe a little at how deadly her voice sounded. Ron's face grew red and he clenched his jaw, a mixture of embarrassment and anger flooding his features.

"You've had to use the loo together as well." Ginny mentioned quietly, sounding as if she were making a statement rather than a asking a question. Harry's face softened as he looked as his girlfriend and he nodded.

"If I'm using the bathroom, I'll put a deafening charm on Hermione and she'll stare at the door and vice versa." He told her, feeling as if his own spots of embarrassment were showing.

"Are you moving back to the Burrow?" Ginny asked them, sounding hopeful once more. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks of uncertainty and went silent.

"I'll take that as a no." She murmured having caught on to the meaning behind their lack of answer.

"We just think that it would be really strange sleeping in a bed together and bathing together with both of you in the house-" Hermione sounded sheepish as she tried to explain their reasoning behind not moving back to the Burrow. Harry knew that from the tone of her voice she was doing it more for Ginny's sake rather than Ron's and he was thankful.

"Wait, bathing together? You mean to tell me that you've seen Hermione without a stitch of clothes on?" Ron asked, unable to get off the subject. Harry sighed, partially tired and partially annoyed with his best friend.

"No, I haven't Ron. Hermione and I decided that we were going to wait until we told you both the results of Madam Pomfrey's diagnosis." Even as he said it, Harry began feel the stickiness of not bathing and it annoyed him even more. Ron seemed to be having an internal battle with himself over whether or not to blow up any further than he already had for the afternoon while Ginny began to look a bit frustrated.

"So now that you've told us, what are you going to do?" Ginny asked, her voice with a bit of an edge. Harry stared at her with a look of confusion while Hermione answered for them.

"We don't know, we haven't figured that part out. I promise that we'll try to be as discreet as possible when we do though." Ginny looked at them incredulously for a moment but said nothing causing Harry to look at her questioningly once more.

"I meant where are you planning on living? I mean, since you won't come back here and you only have less than two weeks until school starts." Ginny's voice was a bit hardened as she spoke and while Hermione brushed it off as being a natural reaction from a girlfriend. Harry, however, was slowly growing annoyed.

"Well we talked about it and we thought maybe we'd try to find someplace near Hogwarts to rent out until we're fixed up." Hermione looked at Harry who didn't seem to want to talk and continued.

"It's close enough to Hogwarts so that we can help the professors with whatever plant watching or potion brewing for the paste and if my parents can make a deal with Professor McGonagall I'll be able to do my assignments a bit easier..."

"So, this is all for you then? What good does this do for Harry?" Ginny asked, sounding a bit rougher than even she had intended to. Hermione looked at her with surprise written on her face while Harry glared at her.

"Gin, we're just trying to make the best out of the situation." Harry started, his voice quiet. "It's not Hermione's fault." His eyes shot over towards Ron, who seemed content with not getting involved. It seemed any attention that would divert Hermione's anger away from him was alright in his book. Ginny shifted in her seat, letting an annoyed huff escape her.

"I just don't understand why you can't live here, Harry. Mum would love to have you and we have enough room. We've already spent a year apart because of the war and then you were in the hospital and then right after the hospital you were in Australia. Now, you're glued to another girl and you're going to have your own home together? That's a lot to take in, Harry." Her voice had started off as trying to be a private sort of whisper and ended with it growing louder as she grew more upset.

"What do you want from me, Ginny? It's not like I planned this. I'm sorry, I just don't want to sleep in the same bed with another girl while your in the opposite room. It's just too strange and we're both uncomfortable as it is. I thought you would be happy that we'd be close by to Hogwarts." Harry told her, too frustrated to be understanding and embarrassed as it was at having a fight in front of Hermione and Ron.

"Ginny's right, Harry. You both should just stay here, it'll be easier on everyone." Ron's voice sounded as if he were finalizing the discussion and Harry accidentally clenched his hand over Hermione's causing her to wince.

"It's not about it being easy on everyone! You do realize that we have absolutely no privacy as it is, right? That no matter what we do, even our closest friends can't help but stare at the fact that we're joined like this? I'm sorry, Ron, but you have absolutely no say in this." Ron was ready to argue when Ginny spoke up first.

"Well _**I**_ do have a say in this and I say that you're both being selfish. There's a reason it would be awkward for everyone and you're both too immature to deal with it and let it pass. We'd all get used to it eventually." She stood up angrily, her arms crossed and a glare being sent Harry's way. Harry shot up as well, not noticing that he jerked Hermione around in his movements.

"Selfish? I'm being selfish?" Harry yelled, beyond caring that they were fighting in front of anyone. He started thinking of all the things he had done in the past year and even before that. He wanted to scream at her that even if he was being selfish that he deserved a little bit of selfishness.

"Yes, you are." Ginny told him, standing her ground. Ron made to agree with her but stopped short under his younger sister's glare to stay out of it.

Harry gave her a frustrated glare before shaking his head and stepping back. "Let's go, Hermione."

If it had been any other moment, Hermione was sure that she would have chastised Harry for assuming that she would do as he commanded. In truth, she wanted to continue yelling at Ron and while she usually got on well with Ginny, she wanted to yell at her too. A part of her wanted to throw her arms out and yell "SEE! This is why we can't live together!" but she kept it to herself. It was obvious that this wasn't just a small bickering between her best friend and his girlfriend and she knew better than to get involved.

It was to Harry's surprise that Hermione stood up upon his request and let him pull her towards the door.

"And where do you think you're going? We aren't done here!" Ron called after him. Harry stopped at the door and glared at Ron.

"I'm off to have a bath, of course."

He never stopped to see the utter rage on Ron's face or the upset frown on Ginny's.

Even Hermione seemed speechless and that was an achievement.

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><p>AN: Thank you for all of your amazing reviews! I had a great response and I'll definitely be continuing this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and for any of you who are worried, I assure you that this is **_not_** a sort of Ron-bashing/Ginny-bashing fic (not that I mind those, this just isn't it).


	4. Things Change

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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><p>Harry wanted to preserve the moment. He had actually gotten the last word and he felt it was a rather witty way to get under Ron's skin. It certainly wasn't the last lick of revenge that his best friend had coming to him but it was a start. On the other hand (mostly likely the one that was connected to Hermione) Harry felt the sinking feeling of guilt. He had just taunted his best friend with what he knew was in fact one of his biggest insecurities. He also realized how that comment must've affected Ginny and cursed himself for doing that to her.<p>

"Harry James Potter!"

It was amazing how just the sound of her voice brought him back to reality. He stared at her for a moment and even if he tried to, he wouldn't have been able to stop the grin on his face from widening.

In his rush to get away from any backlash he might've received from the two Weasley's, Harry had gone directly to the fireplace and sent them back to Hogwarts without specifying which room he was supposed to go to. It was why Hermione was covered in soot from the neglected Hogwarts fireplace and it was one of the reasons she was roasting him with a rather fiery glare.

Hermione rubbed her face in frustration, groaning as she accidentally rubbed a thick line across her forehead. She cocked her head threateningly as Harry snorted at the look on her face. The parting words that Harry had left Ron and Ginny with came back to her and she froze in place as if she needed to stop what she was doing in order to reprocess it.

_**WHACK!**_

"What was that for?" Harry yelled, nursing his unattached arm. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and made to punch his arm once more.

"That was for what you said to Ron and Ginny!"

He turned his shoulder away to keep his arm out of her range when she lifted her soot covered shoe and stomped on his foot. Harry yelled out once more and stumbled backwards, pulling Hermione down with him. They both went into coughing fits as the unsettled dust flew around them after their impact and waved their free hands wildly around them in order to keep it away from them. Harry groaned as Hermione's elbow found it's way into his stomach and just as she were about to attack him again he rolled himself over and wrestled her free hand from abusing him further.

"Why. Are. You. Hitting. Me?" Harry asked, emphasizing each word slowly and showing how annoyed he was with her. Hermione glared at him and the two fought for the upper hand a little longer before she finally huffed and relented.

"I told you! The first one was for what you said to Ron and Ginny! The second one was for sending me through a bunch of filthy cobwebs!" She was breathing heavily from the adrenaline of their argument at the Burrow and Harry swore he could actually see her thinking of a third reason for elbowing him in the gut.

"And the third one?" He asked mockingly, pinning her arm down once more as she squirmed out of his grasp.

"Because you threw me on the ground! Now get off of me, you big oaf!" He found himself amused at the growl in her voice and rolled his eyes at her, earning another huff in return.

"First off, I did not 'throw' you anywhere. If you hadn't insisted on trying to stomp my foot into the dungeons I wouldn't have stumbled back." He looked at her pointedly as she shifted under him once more and she looked away, thoroughly annoyed with him. He took her silence as a means to continue.

"And second, Ron deserved what I said. He was being stupid and I don't care that it got a rise out of him. I don't know why you're defending him-"

"I am not!"

"Yes, you are."

"I am not, Harry!"

"You are too, Hermione! Otherwise, **_why_** would you have hit me?"

The point seemed to have driven home as Hermione stewed in frustration, not bothering to give him an answer. Having realized that she was not going to attack him any more, Harry let go of her wrist and slid away from her, groaning as his back hit the cold hard castle floor. The two laid silently on the dirty floor of the unknown room feeling tired, frustrated and dirty. Hermione stared up at the cobweb covered chandelier and thought about Harry's last comment. Truthfully, she didn't know why she was so angry with him. She had grown so upset during their conversation with Ron and Ginny that a part of her felt that if Harry hadn't said what he did, she would've. It bothered her a bit at how little she cared about how upset Ron would be right now.

"We can't go back to the Burrow now." Hermione told him, earning a scoff from Harry.

"Of course we can-" He coughed as Hermione's foot found his shin and kicked it hard.

"You're so dense sometimes! Do you think Mrs. Weasley will be happy when she hears about what you said and sees how upset her two youngest children are? Have you forgotten how upset she was over Rita Skeeter's articles during the Triwizard Tournament?"

Hermione moved away from him once more and Harry cringed at the point she made and was finding it harder to defend the comment he had made as they left. He thought of how angry Ginny must be with him at that very moment and he paled slightly.

"Look, Hermione, we'll be able to go back-" He paused as she shot a glare in his direction. "Mrs. Weasley will be cross for a little but she'll get over it."

They were quiet again for a long time before Harry finally spoke up.

"Why didn't they come after us?"

Hermione rolled her head to the side to look at Harry; he was looking up at the chandelier above them. She could tell by the look on his face that even though he had defended his choice of words, he was starting to feel guilty about it now that he was thinking on it. She sighed, and turned her head back to gaze at the chandelier along with him, feeling even guiltier that she had hit him so many times.

"Hogwarts: A History."

Harry turned his head to see that she had closed her eyes, looking more tired than he felt. When she opened her eyes, she could see him watching her and met his stare for a moment before turning away once more.

"I'm beginning to wonder if you'll ever read that book, Harry." She told him tiredly, earning a small grin from her best friend.

"Of course I'm going to read that book." He told her sarcastically, watching as she rolled her eyes and fought the smile that started forming in the corner of her mouth.

"They didn't come after us because they _can't_ come after us. Not just anyone can floo into Hogwarts, there are too many wards against that sort of thing. Only people specifically keyed in by the Head of the school and the deputy head can come through. Of course, anyone can call through the floo which is why Sirius was able to get in touch with you during fourth year." She closed her eyes once more and Harry watched as her face relaxed.

"I'm sorry for hitting you." She told him, her eyes still closed. A part of him wanted to frustrate her further by not accepting her apology just yet but he decided against it.

"I'm sorry if I cause a problem between you and Ron." He mumbled. Hermione opened one eye and raised an eyebrow at him, causing him to roll his eyes in return.

"Fine. I'm sorry for _definitely_ causing a problem between you and Ron." Hermione smiled for a moment before she sighing for what felt like the millionth time.

"All you did was add to the pile, Harry. It's nothing new." She told him solemnly. For the second time in two days Harry wondered just how rocky the relationship between his best friends had gotten. He thought briefly about how her father felt about Ron and wondered if Jasper was right.

"Ginny's going to kill you. You know that, right?" It was Harry's turn to sigh while Hermione turned to watch him.

"She's not as up front with me as I thought she was. All that stuff she said, about how I haven't been around. She made it seem like-" He struggled for the right words and Hermione could tell he was growing angry with himself for not being able to express himself properly.

"Like you wanted to do all the things you've done this past year?" Hermione interjected carefully, earning a thankful nod from her best friend.

"Do you ever get tired of knowing so much?" He asked her, causing her eyes to widen slightly in surprise. She turned her head towards him and studied him for a moment before turning away. Thinking that she was offended by his question, Harry nudged her gently with his throbbing foot.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. You know that I think you're brilliant." He wondered briefly why his face grew so hot as he said it and passed it as being nervous that she would hit him once more. Hermione felt her chest swell at his words, almost wanting to sigh in relief at the compliment. For the most part, she held back the pleasure she felt and released only a slight smile.

"I know you weren't trying to insult me. To answer your question, I like being the one with all the answers…" There was a pause and Harry waited for her to continue speaking as it sounded like she weren't completely finished answering him.

"…but sometimes I wish I wasn't."

Harry regarded her carefully, watching the pensive and somewhat painful look that crossed her face before it disappeared as quickly as it came. He wasn't sure what it meant or why she wished it but said nothing, storing the question for another day. They stayed like that a little longer until Hermione finally sat up, groaning at the pain in her back from falling so awkwardly. She felt like she were caked in dirt and grime and snorted out a laugh when she saw that Harry looked exactly as she felt. He sat up next to her and wanted nothing more than to scrub his face clean as he felt dust sprinkle away from his hair.

Harry got up first and as he waited for Hermione to stand up as well, he surveyed the room they were in. While it was obvious that the room had been abandoned for some time, Harry wondered just what type of room it was. It was a bit smaller than the Gryffindor common room and the only slivers of light were the ones coming from behind the large curtains on the far side of the room. Scattered throughout were objects covered in a dingy practically threadbare white cloth and Harry could barely make out what was on the walls.

"Where are we, anyway?" He asked aloud, more to himself than to Hermione.

As the witch stood up, she took in her surroundings the same as he had before, mirroring his look of confusion. Taking out her wand, she moved the curtains to the side, turning her head away as the outside light filled the room. The room was much bigger than it appeared in the dark and they could see now that above the chandelier were another set of curtains that were tied in place covering the ceiling. They walked over to the tall window and grew even more confused as they saw Hogwarts shining across the lake.

"What is this place?" Hermione whispered, her free hand touching the floor length glass window gently.

She wracked her brain for any sort of clue as to how it was possible that they were in such a room. Surely, she thought, it was impossible that they had never seen this place before. Harry, just as baffled as Hermione, lifted his hand and carefully moved the curtains away from the ceiling. He heard Hermione gasp beside him as the thick black coverings gave way and revealed a glass dome ceiling in which the dull golden metal that held it together practically glittered in the sunlight. The chandelier they had seen earlier looked as if it were once as golden as the metal above but was covered in grime from being out of use for so long.

The light from above illuminated the room in a way that seemed almost heavenly. Where they had shifted the dust in the scuffle showed that beneath the dirt and dust were light wooden floors and as they turned away from the glass window, they saw bookshelves lined around the top half the room and what looked like a now rickety spiral staircase that led to the tomes above. Harry had a feeling that he would need to stop Hermione from trying to climb the old staircase.

Hermione was pulled out of her trance as Harry pointed out a set of doors. The two walked over to the engraved door and once again, Hermione touched it gently as if she were afraid she were going to break it. It appeared to be a set of ancient runes carved into the door that Harry had no idea what it meant. His hand lifted to the door knob when Hermione stopped him.

"Wait, we don't know what could be behind there. I…" Her face screwed up in confusion as she read the runes.

"What does it say?"

"Something along the lines of 'hail the day the sun met the sea.' Well that doesn't sound too bad." Harry laughed at the look on her face.

"Don't look so put out. I'm sure there will be some sort of evil thing waiting to kill us at some point of our day."

Not bothering to look at the glare he knew was on her face, he twisted the knob and pushed his free shoulder into the door as it seemed a bit jammed. They waved their hands in front of their face as the unsettled dust flew around in a fury just as it had earlier. Before they stepped into the room Harry waved his hand towards the curtains and let the light fill the room.

In the center of the room was a large cherry wood bed frame with a sunken in with feathers askew. Opposite of the windows was an open doorway leading to a shaded room that they couldn't really see. Cautiously, the two walked towards the shady room with their wands at the ready in case anything wanted to fly out at them. Hermione rolled her eyes as Harry gently pushed her behind him but said nothing. In the light, they could just make out torches on the wall, to which Hermione whispered "Incendio." They watched as the ball of fire split and flew into the few torches that lit the room and brightened to show a large white tub reminiscent of the Prefect's bath. What once had been clean and smooth white stone was now rough and the statue where the water should come from looked as if it had been his with a blasting hex.

"I don't understand, how is this possible?"

Harry tried not to show how unnerved he was but in truth he worried. Nothing good ever came from Hermione not having the answer.

"We can't just leave, Harry. What if we can't get back?" Hermione told him, trying not to eye the bookshelves on the platform above her head. Harry groaned aloud. He felt as if he had taken a bath in a dirt pile, knew there was probably a howler waiting for him at the infirmary , was stuck in a medieval sort of getaway house that shouldn't exist and worst of all, he was hungry.

"Hermione-"

"Harry, I have no idea how or why we're here but this could very well be at old as Hogwarts itself and if it is then this, THIS…." Her hand gestured all around her and Harry couldn't help but smile at the light in her eyes as she spoke so excitedly. She looked funny standing there, swooning over the building and it's trappings, especially since she was covered in dirt and grime.

"…is amazing. Can you imagine, this being hidden all these years?" There was an airy tone to her voice that he would've associated with Luna instead of his best friend and he enjoyed it. He sighed, nodding his head and not surprised when Hermione practically tackled him to the floor with a hug.

"Alright, but we need to figure out a way to get…" His stomach growled and his face grew a bit red. Hermione smiled, and nodded .

"Right. We need food and we need-" They both pointed their wands as two loud pops surprised them. They watched as Winky and Mitsy blinked a bit in surprise before looking at Harry and Hermione.

"You're needing help and OHHH!" Winky yelled out, causing the two to take a step back nervously. The elf looked ready to cry and Mitsy looked as confused by the noise as the witch and wizard in the room.

"Yous is needing to leave this place, Harry Potter and Hermy Granger!" The elf cried out, practically hyperventilating. Harry felt on guard immediately and gripped his wand and, growing wary as well, Hermione whipped out her own wand. Harry bent down on his knee and in a whisper, spoke to the elf carefully.

"Is something here, Winky? Is it not safe?" He asked, worriedly.

The elf cried out once more and threw herself down and Harry looked at Hermione to do something in sudden panic. Even though she was an elf, she was a female elf and he was afraid that he would be too rough with her if he handled her as bluntly as he did Dobby. Seeming to pick up on his discomfort, Hermione bent down and grabbed Winky by the shoulders while Mitsy just hung her head.

"Winky, please, tell us what is wrong with this place-"

"IT IS NOT CLEAN FOR HARRY POTTER AND HERMY GRANGER!" The elf cried. Familiar fat tears slipped from her large brown eyes and she began sobbing in Hermione's hold as she held her with a look of disbelief.

"So there isn't anything dangerous here? No jinxes or – I don't know – booby traps or something?" Harry asked her, earning a fervent shake of the head. The two let out a sigh of relief and while the threat of danger was gone, the two were still relatively uncomfortable with the upset elf getting into such a tizzy.

"Winky, really, it's alright. It's alright." Hermione tried to comfort her, looking at Harry for help. Harry shook his head with wide eyes, mouthing an obvious 'No.' She glared at him lightly and began fussing over the upset elf.

"Why is mummy Winky thinking she is a bad elf?" A small squeak interrupted.

Harry blinked at the elf in surprise and he turned to Hermione who only motioned down at the still crying Winky in her arms with a smug look. He suddenly regretted not helping her earlier and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly as he looked down at the confused elf. It was obvious that Mitsy had not yet been taught to believe that she could be as bad an elf as her mother seemed to feel.

"You see, Mitsy...well…" He trailed off and looked at Hermione to tell him the right words to say. The brunette sighed, and shifted the hysterical elf to the side so she could speak properly.

"Your mum and dad are from a different time, Mitsy. They come from a learning that says that elves are bad if they do not make everything perfect for their masters. You're mum is teaching you to be a free thinker like Dobby, your father, was. Everyone is created equally, Mitsy, and no one should ever have to feel so helpless over a small task. As you grow older and as your mum grows older, things will become clearer." The words rolled off her tongue so easily and were said with such conviction that Harry wondered how she spoke without a paper in front of her to prompt her. The little elf nodded slowly, and hugged her mother's legs in what seemed a universal sign of comfort.

The two connected friends shared a look of relief as Winky calmed down and Harry squeezed her hand thankfully. The two smiled at one another for some time and it wasn't until Winky seemed to jolt herself into action that the Harry released his comforting hold on her hand.

"Winky is sorry for making a spectacle of herself." The elf told them as she wiped her face. Mitsy beamed up at her and continued to hold on to her mother.

"It's quite alright, Winky. I have to say though, how is it that you always know where to find us?" Hermione asked as they pulled themselves off the ground and stood up once more.

"Winky is head elf in charge of taking care of Harry Potter and his Hermy-"

"HER-MY-KNEE." Mitsy corrected, earning a smile from both of the older females in the room.

"Do you know where we are?" Harry asked her hopefully, he could practically feel Hermione's excitement as her focus was once again brought to the room.

"It is being one of the old private rooms. No one is knowing it is here because elf magic keeps it safe. We is workers of Hogwarts and we is keeping Hogwarts secrets even if we are free." She explained to them. Hermione wondered briefly if the elves knew about the Chamber of Secrets and Harry seemed to think the same. They stood in silence, both caught up in thoughts of the other secrets of Hogwarts when Winky interrupted their line of thinking.

"Hogwarts is picking you to be here. Elf magic says that no one is being picked to be here before."

They stood in shock for a moment before Harry spoke.

"What do you mean Hogwarts picked us?"

Winky looked at him for a moment before shaking her head with a smile that showed she thought he was silly.

"You is needing Hogwarts and Hogwarts is helping."

They watched as with a snap of her finger, a group of elves arrived – each looking equally horrified that two 'masters' of Hogwarts were witnessing a part of their castle in such dissary.

* * *

><p>It was in no time after the elves arrived that they insisted Harry and Hermione leave so that they could get to work. It wasn't until Winky gave her sworn word as a 'good elf' that she could and would return them to the mystery room that Hermione finally relented and allowed her to send them back to Hogwarts.<p>

"It's extraordinary. Imagine, Harry, what if it's one of the founders homes? What if that library has magic that we don't even know about or what if it can get us unglued. There are so many possibilities!" Harry had listened to her ramble on excitedly for the past ten minutes and occasionally threw in another question that got her talking even more exuberantly. He was happy just to watch her talk, glad to see the look in her eyes that had been dulled after a year on the run. Even caked in dirt, she looked so bright and alive in that moment and it twisted something inside of him as he watched her.

"Do know what this means?" He raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled.

"We don't have to live in Hogsmeade. We can live right here, close to Hogwarts. No one even has to know we're stuck like this!" She told him, earning a small grin.

"An ancient and secret house that no one knows about and can't be seen? If you wanted me for yourself Hermione, you could've just asked."

The second the words came out of his mouth, he regretted it. It was something that he would've joked about with Ginny and as he watched Hermione's face begin to grow pink, he knew she caught the flirtatious manner in which his words had been said. Before he could say anything, or even apologize if he had made her uncomfortable, they heard a shriek that startled them both.

"What do you think you are doing? This is a school infirmary, not a quidditch pitch! You're both filthy!" The older woman was stomping towards them angrily and they both instantly jumped off the cot, grimacing as they saw the residue they left behind on the newly clean fitted sheets.

"Get in the bath, NOW! I don't care why you've both been holding it off but I will not have such poor hygiene care in my wing!" She pointed towards the direction of the baths and Harry and Hermione both tried to apologize when the woman just glared at them. They found themselves walking towards the bath as if they were scolded dogs with tails between their legs, their change of clothes levitated behind them.

Hermione could feel her heartbeat racing as Harry reluctantly led them to the bath. They watched as the water filled up, a translucent green and blue soap poured generously through two of the taps and filled the tub with bubbles. Neither said anything until the bath reached nearly finished being filled and neither made a move to undress. Hermione began fidgeting and biting her lip while Harry felt the need to push his glasses back up what seemed like every ten seconds.

The bath stopped itself and they stared at the water anxiously.

"I guess we should call a house elf…" Hermione suggested, her voice a bit high as she spoke. Harry nodded dumbly, and neither jumped at the appearance of Winky and Mitsy as they arrived shortly after she spoke.

"Ok, just look away." Hermione told him. He complied instantly and turned his head away and closed his eyes. He felt the instant cool of having his shirt removed and his body went hot at the idea that Hermione was next to him in the same predicament.

Hermione in turn, shivered and covered her top half graciously with one arm. The natural curiosity that she had been born with was making her turn red as she imagined that Harry would be undressed as well. The two paused as Winky and Mitsy left them to their private session of embarrassment and Hermione could feel Harry shift next to her.

"Bottoms?" Harry asked, his voice squeaking as if he were going through puberty once more. He prayed to every god that he had ever heard of that he would not be graced with the reaction that a man got when they thought of a beautiful woman naked for that was all that plagued his mind and as a precaution, started picturing Professor Slughorn in a bathing suit It was like the headline "HERMIONE IS BARE" was trying to break into his mind and he swallowed nervously as he heard the sound of a zipper next to him.

After both shaking themselves out of their shorts, Hermione wanted to cry in shame as she stood so vulnerably in front of the bath. There was no doubt that she wouldn't be able to look at Harry the same after this. Harry just wanted to bury his head in the dirt in order to physically stop himself from turning to see Hermione.

"Just jump in. It's deep enough." Hermione told him shakily. Without waiting for a reply, she began walking towards the edge of the large bath and pulled Harry along with her. He couldn't see the pool of water as his head and his body were turned away from her awkwardly and he followed her in shaky steps.

"One." Hermione whispered.

"Two." Harry croaked.

Without saying anything, they jumped in at three with closed eyes as they felt the soothing warm water envelope them. When they surfaced, Harry felt Hermione's side accidentally slip against him in a loss of footing and nearly groaned aloud at the feeling of her smooth flesh. He wanted to scream at her that she was his best friend and that she should be as unattractive as Goyle and she shouldn't put him in the strange position of imagining her naked for the first time while she she's naked next to him. Harry could feel himself grow irrationally mad at her and while it bothered him, it was easier to be mad at her at the moment.

The second Hermione felt Harry's skin against hers she swore her body must have been dipped in blush. She moved away from him as quickly as possible and began gathering bubbles around her in order to make it harder to see beneath the surface. When the commotion of their entry had died down, the two stood rather awkwardly and silently next to one another. In the moment of silence, Hermione grew horrified as her eyes grew watery with tears that threatened to make themselves known and the more horrified she became the worse it got until eventually she was crying openly. Harry's eyes widened as he heard the soft hiccups coming from her direction.

"Are you crying?" He asked, bewildered at the prospect.

"NO!" Hermione yelled out, her voice giving her away.

"Why are you crying?" He asked, genuinely confused as to why the situation warranted tears and not punching of a certain redhead miles away. She didn't answer him, content only to cry in the bath while his head was turned. He asked again, hating the useless feeling he always got whenever a girl cried around him. She only cried harder and he dipped his head in the water frustratingly before coming back up for air.

"I'm going to turn around now…" He warned, earning only a sob in response.

Hermione was only vaguely aware of the fact that he had turned to face her, and she wanted to curse herself for being so silly. The majority part of her was horrified and ashamed as she gathered more bubbles around her while the small part of her grew excited as he turned, feeling as if her heart would break through her chest.

Harry looked at her and swallowed nervously. Her brown hair was soaked from their jump and pooled behind her shoulders. Shoulders: something he had never fantasized about before but was certain now that he always would. She had covered her top half protectively with her free hand and watched his eyes as he seemed to inspect every part of her bare skin before looking at her face. It had gotten slightly puffy from crying and he stared at her as he watched tears slip out of the corners of her eyes.

"Hermione, why are you crying?" He asked again. Hermione felt her knees want to buckle at how rough his voice sounded, almost as if he were in pain restraining himself from looking at her further.

"This just isn't fair. I thought that the first time anyone ever saw me like this... it would be different!"

She realized after she spoke that she was practically yelling and Harry's eyebrows raised as she spoke. It was like a slap in his face as he realized that and some point or another, Hermione had fantasized about being naked in front of another person intimately. It hit him even harder that it meant she and Ron hadn't taken that next step in their relationship.

After a moment or so of quiet, Hermione looked up to see that Harry was staring intently at the water, looking frustrated and even a bit disturbed.

"At least it's an actual human being seeing you, I had to suffer through Moaning Mrytle during fourth year." He joked with her cautiously.

He watched as the corners of her mouth twitched a little as she fought the urge to smile. He rolled his eyes, not enjoying the fact that another laugh could be had at the embarrassing memory but glad that she wasn't as upset. Harry splashed a bit of water on his face as he found himself watching a drop of water travel down his best friend's neck and turned away from her once more in order to start washing up. Deciding that she should follow his lead, Hermione began her own task of cleaning off the dirt and grime. She chanced a backwards glance at him and watched enraptured as he dipped under the water and back up, rinsing the soap from his hair, feeling like a peeping tom she turned back to her duties.

The two cleaned up quickly, both careful not to accidentally touch the other again. Hermione grew nervous as she watched the bubbles begin to naturally disperse.

"I think we ought to get out now." She told him, this time being the one to turn towards him. Without meaning to, his eyes swept the surface of the water and though he wasn't sure if Hermione caught it his face reddened a bit.

"Right. How do we do that?" He asked. The two stared at the narrow stairs that one would usually take in and out of the bathtub. It would require one person leading the other out of the large bath and in their state of undress, neither seemed comfortable with that.

Harry led the way over to the steps, wading carefully through the water while Hermione was pulled along. A whirling sound could be heard and it was obvious that the bath was beginning to drain as is began lowering around them.

"No time like the present." Harry told her, trying to egg on an idea from the always active brain of hers. Hermione's brows furrowed as she forced herself to focus and in a snap summoned two large towels towards them.

"Just wrap it around you, we can dry them once we get out." She ordered, watching as his face conflicted between sheer relief and dissappointment. She couldn't help but feel the same way as she struggled to get the towel around her in the water. Harry waited patiently as she used both hands to wrap herself up as she had more to cover as the water drained around them.

"I'm going to need your help, so don't freak out." He told her as he submerged his towel in the water.

Hermione stared at an etching on the wall as he pulled her hand under water with his and her arm grazed his chest. When he finally got himself wrapped up, he led the way out of the bath, feeling horribly embarrassed and foolish as he dripped all over the marble floor. Hermione looked no better, thoroughly annoyed with the water soaked towel that threatened to drag down in her slippery grip.

They stared at one another for a moment, both taking in the dripping attire they had donned and burst out laughing. Hermione's hair was a mess around her and Harry's seemed to be happy with the "every direction" look. As their laughs died down, they carefully walked towards their wands, each muttering a drying charm on their towels, feeling instantly better at the warmth that surrounded them once they were no longer wrapped up in a wet cloth.

"Well, we survived our first bath." Hermione told him, earning a nod of agreement from her best friend. He looked a lot less silly now that the towel that wrapped around his waist was clean and dry and she felt her stomach flutter at the look of him. She told herself that it was from her inexperience with the opposite sex that continued these spurts of attraction (not that she would deny that Harry was attractive).

"Two galleons says there's a Howler waiting for us outside."

* * *

><p>"It's ridiculous how clean I feel right now."<p>

Harry nodded in agreement and yelled out "HA" the second he saw the familiar looking red envelope waiting atop their pillow. She rolled her eyes and contemplated whether or not she should just cast a strong Incendio on the innocent looking envelope. She was too excited to go back to the room they had arrived in earlier that afternoon to worry about what Ron wanted to fuss about now.

"Double or nothing says it's from Ginny." Harry told her, his last words coming back to haunt him as he thought of how truly upset his best friend and girlfriend must be. Hermione narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"I'll take that bet." She told him smugly, putting her wand in her pocket as she said so. When he raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, she shrugged her shoulders and smirked.

"There's no way it's from Ginny; she's much smarter than that."

Harry looked at her curiously as he levitated the envelope away from the pillow and settled comfortably atop the cot.

"Is that a backward way of saying that Ron is stupid or that Ginny is sneaky?" He asked, earning a slight scoff in return.

"I didn't mean it that way _but_ at the moment Ron **_is_** being rather stupid." Harry grinned a little at the comment. It reminded him of how frank Hermione was about their redheaded friend before she started dating him.

"I meant that Ginny is smart enough to let you grow anxious over her reaction to what you said. Ron on the other hand is definitely not one to spare anyone his feelings." She told him bitterly, remembering once more how angry she was about her current situation.

Harry shook his head at the sneakiness of the women he surrounded himself with and wondered briefly if he or any man would ever be able to keep up with any of them.

"I'm sure you'd do the same thing as Ginny then?" He asked her accusingly, earning a wiry grin from his best friend that made him laugh.

"No, I'm sure I would've attacked you before you left the house." She told him honestly, causing him to remember an incident not too long ago with a dangerous flock of birds. There was no doubt in Harry's mind that he would never even attempt to say such a ending statement to the woman next to him - for he valued his life too much.

"Shall we open it?" He asked, waiting until she sat comfortably next to him on the cot before tapping the envelope carefully.

They watched as it came to life before them, fluttering in the air for a moment and spinning before it found it's target. The Howler seemed to zoom in on it's targets and came in close to their face.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" The voice came in so loud that Hermione's touched her ears gingerly at the sound. The Howler paused long enough for them roll their eyes at one another before continuing.

"YOU'D BETTER BELIEVE THAT ONCE I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, HARRY, THAT THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE MY BEST MATE AND THEN YOU TELL ME YOU'RE OFF TO HAVE A BATH WITH MY GIRLFRIEND! AND YOU SAY IT IN FRONT OF MY SISTER - WHO IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" The angry piece of mail reared back as it imitated the sound of someone taking in a heaving a large breath. It moved away from Harry and zoned in on Hermione this time, who looked rather deadly.

"Hermione-" Harry was pleased that his 'best friend' had the sense not to scream at the girl next to him as he knew there would be no saving him then. The voice coming from the envelope was angry and strained as if Ron was trying his best to keep calm.

"I think it's best that you and Harry stay here at the Burrow. Mum has already agreed to make up your room and I don't want any arguments. I'm putting my foot down here. You both need to straighten out your priorities." The last sentence was carried out more like an angry hiss and Hermione merely raised an eyebrow at the tone of voice.

"And Harry-" They were both surprised to hear Ginny's calm tone.

"Please don't think that last comment of yours will be overlooked."

There was no evil undertone, no other threat and no angry words left to be said as the envelope shot into the air and sliced up into tiny pieces, falling over them like tossed confetti.

They sat in silence for a while, both unsure of what should be said at that moment. Harry wondered if anyone else in the castle had heard the message that they had been sent and was infinitely glad that there were no students in the school. He debated whether or not he should go to the Burrow and strangle Ron with his bare hands or with magic.

Hermione on the other hand looked positively menacing as she stared at the pieces that fell into her lap. She was tapping her wand slowly against her knee and Harry knew that the saying "if looks could kill, you'd be dead" was definitely true. He wouldn't have minded strangling the redhead at the moment while he contemplated Ginny's parting shot at him. He hated the fact that she thought she could scare him into a corner and briefly wished that she could be a bit more like Hermione in that sense.

He turned once more to Hermione and watched as she sat up straight, looking quite lost in her thoughts. A part of him waited for her to start planning their revenge while the other became irrationally worried for the safety of his "best friend"; people always seemed to forget that Hermione blackmailed a well known journalist and trapped her in a jar successfully at the age of fourteen (if that wasn't Slytherin worthy, he wasn't sure what was).

The expression on her face went from seething to a simple frown and he watched, rather confused, as she closed her eyes and let out an almost painful sort of sigh.

"I think mine and Ronald's relationship just ended." She said quietly.

The anger in her eyes had disappeared and instead of being upset, she look tired again. It was as if she had been carrying a heavy weight on her shoulders that finally released as she said those words. Saying it aloud made it seem like she was walking on concrete rather than quicksand, and while it made her angry, worried and sad all at once - it felt right.

She started worrying instantly about how she would break the news to him and how badly he would take it. While she reasoned with herself that they would eventually return to being friends, a small part of her broke at the idea that he would banish her from his life. Her breath grew shaky at the thought but when her heartbeat stopped pounding in her ears, she told herself that losing him as a friend was not enough of a reason to drag on their unhealthy relationship.

Harry, however, was not content with logical reasoning. He felt as if his ears were hot and his throat were dry at the simple statement. He imagined Ron lashing out at him and Hermione being kicked out of the Weasley's circle. He imagined the friendship that had steeled itself through war, torture and death would fall to pieces over heartbreak and Ron's pride and it made him angrier than he had ever been.

"What do you mean, 'it's just ended'?" Harry asked suddenly, almost venomously. Hermione turned to him, taken aback by his tone.

"I mean that I can't do this anymore. You heard him, Harry. 'I don't want any arguments' and 'you need to straighten out your priorities.' Were you not just sitting there while he yelled at you the way he did? You, his best mate-"

"Exactly! I AM his best mate, that's why I can't believe you're just going to make a decision like that! You two have only been together for three months and you're just going to quit on him? He's your best friend too! Or does that not matter?" He had slipped off the cot in the middle of his interruption and stood stiffly in front of her, glaring at her with all he had.

Hermione blinked at him in a sort of blank shock before slipping off the cot herself and standing her ground.

"I'm not quitting on anything, Harry! It's not working and you know it! You aren't as blind as you pretend to be, otherwise you wouldn't have come into the room the day we got glued together. You know how he's been, you know that we're not right for each other." She accused him.

Harry shook his head, denying her claim and snapping back.

"You knew how he was when you started dating! You knew how he gets and you both started this up anyway, always making up excuses for one another! Now you're going to ruin everything because you both don't know how to act like adults and put me in the middle as usual! He's going to blame me for you breaking up with him, just like he blamed me that night in the tent, that's the only reason why you're going to do it now."

"How dare you? How dare you accuse me of using you that way? I'm just being honest with myself, Harry, I don't love Ron like that anymore and if he loved me he wouldn't be acting this way! He wouldn't have tried to glue me to the floor in order to force me to stay with him and you know it! If anyone is making excuses for Ron, it's YOU!" She screamed, sparks shooting out of her wand.

There was a long silence between the two as they glared at one another as if they were old enemies rather than old friends.

"You think you're always right. Maybe if you weren't such a stuck up know-it-all you could keep your relationship afloat." Harry eyes widened immediately after the words spilled out of his mouth and he instantly regretted saying it.

It looked as if he'd physically slapped her and it reminded him terribly of how wounded she looked after his wand had accidentally snapped during their hunt for the horcruxes. The sound of her dropping her wand seemed to echo throughout the room and he swore she was a second away from crying. It was as if all of the sudden he realized everything he had said and wanted nothing more than to rewind the past few minutes.

Hermione took a deep breath and shook her head, quickly wiping an angry tear that had pushed it's way out against her wishes. She had expected him to be agreeable with her, to tell her that she was doing the right thing for their friendship. A large part of her heart broke at his staunch support for Ron and although she told herself that she was imagining it, a part of her felt almost disappointed and empty that he wanted them to stay together. It confused her more than ever to feel as if he were betraying her by wanting her to stay with Ron and it made her even angrier.

"Hermione, I didn't mean that, I'm sorry." He told her, feeling a stab in his gut as he reached out to her and was pushed away.

The worst part was that he did agree with her, he never liked Ron and Hermione together, he always thought Ron was too possessive. There had even been a moment, even if it were still small and distant, that he felt a glimmer of happiness at her announcement. _ What the fucking hell is wrong with me?_ He asked mentally, chastising himself. He watched as tears began to flow a little more freely and she hiccuped a little, turning away from him in shame.

"Hermione, please..." He said quietly, tugging on their connected hands gently. He watched her back stiffen at the touch and he had the sudden feeling that if it weren't for the fact that they were attached, she would have dissappeared; the idea made his stomach flip horribly.

"I always knew that you would pick him over me."

This time it was his turn to step back. Her voice was so dead and hurt that he knew that she truly believed it - and it cut him more than he thought possible. His mouth opened to contest but he found nothing good enough to say.

The two stood there in silence, angry, hurt and guilty and unable to look at one another until the sounds of Madame Pomfrey could be heard echoing up the empty staircases and towards the hospital wing.

For all the harsh words they'd passed between one another neither could find it in them to say anything more.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Alright, don't shoot. I know I ended this on a sad note but I truly believe that Harry would not take the news of their break up well. The potential to change everything that is safe and familiar (especially after a hellish war) is something I don't think Harry would be able to deal with automatically even with the idea of budding feelings for one half of the break up. I promise that it won't always be so angsty but I did feel this was necessary. Thank you for reading and please share your thoughts, whether they be arguments, constructive criticsm praise.

Also, I do apologize for the long wait but I was transitioning into a new housing arrangement. I plan to get back on track with my updates being every few days. And if possible, can my readers please let me know if these chapters are too long? Thanks again, Lyssa.


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